UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


Courtesy  of  the  Metroftlitan  Museum 

Balzac 
From  a  study  in  clay  by  Auguste  Rodin 


JUANITAHELM  FLOYD 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 
1921 


COPYBIGHT,    1921 
BY 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 


c.o 
oo 

OD 


n 


TO 

MY  SISTER  NANNIE 


CO 

n 
en 


"...  for  no  one  knows  the  secret  of  my  life,  and  I 
do  not  wish  to  disclose  it  to  any  one." 

Lettresal'&rangere,  v.  i,  p.  418,  July  19, 1837. 


Port-Blanc  par  Penvenan 

(Cotes-du-Nord) 
ce  27  octobre,  1920 
Chere  Miss  Floyd, 

Je  trouve  votre  lettre  du  16  septembre,  en  rentrant  id 
d'une  absence  de  qutlques  jours  etf  en  m'excusant  d'y  repon- 
dre  si  tard,  je  m'empresse  de  vous  adresser  ['attestation  que 
vous  me  demandez  an  sujet  de  votre  these:  "  Les  femmes 
dans  la  Vie  de  Balzac."  J'ai  encore  present  a  If  esprit  tout 
votre  travail,  que  feus  si  grand  plaisir  et  profit  a  lire  en  manu- 
scrit,  et  compterai  toujours  comme  un  des  meilleurs  souvenirs 
de  mon  passage  a  Columbia  I'honneur  d 'avoir  ete  appele  a  pres- 
ider  votre  soutenance.  Je  ne  me  suis  pas  prive  de  vous  ex- 
primer  alors  ma  satisfaction  ni  de  porter  sur  votre  oeuvre 
I' appreciation  la  plus  elogieuse.  Je  suis  heureux  de  vous  la 
renouveler  id,  dans  les  memes  termes:  vous  avez  ecrit  une 
these,  a  la  fois  consdencieuse  et  attachante,  qui,  si  elle 
n'epuise  pas  le  sujet,  y  apporte  une  predeuse  contribution 
dont  I'histoire  des  lettres  franqaises  vous  demeurera  redev- 
able. 

C'est  en  frangais,  a  cause  de  cela  meme,  que  je  ticns  a  vous 
delivrer  cette  attestation  dont  je  vous  autorise  a  faire  tel  usage 
que  vous  jugerez  a  propos.  Vous  me  dites  que  vous  avez 
encore  condense  votre  matiere,  avant  de  la  livrer  a  I'impres- 
sion:  je  serai  particulierement  Hatte  de  relire  votre  travail 
sous  sa  forme  definitive  pour  laquelle  les  conseils  du  Profes- 
seur  Todd  ont  du  vous  etre  si  utiles,  et  j' accept e  done  de 
grand  coeur  I'offre  aimable  que  vous  me  faites  de  m'en 
adresser  un  exemplaire. 

Avec  mes  remerciments  a  I'avance  et  tous  mes  compliments 
encore,  chere  Miss  Floyd,  je  vous  prie  de  trouver  id  I'assur- 
ance  de  mes  sentiments  les  plus  respectueux  et  les  plus  sym- 
pathiques. 

Anatole  Le  Bras. 


PREFACE 

In  presenting  this  study  of  Balzac's  intimate  relations 
with  various  women,  the  author  regrets  her  inability,  ow- 
ing to  war  conditions,  to  consult  a  few  books  which  are 
out  of  print  and  certain  documents  which  have  not  ap- 
peared at  all  in  print,  notably  the  collection  of  the  late 
Vicomte  de  Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul. 

The  author  gladly  takes  this  opportunity  of  acknowl- 
edging her  deep  gratitude  to  various  scholars,  and  wishes 
to  express,  even  if  inadequately,  her  appreciation  of  their 
inspiring  contact;  especially  to  Professor  Chester  Murray 
and  Professor  J.  Warshaw  for  first  interesting  her  in  the 
great  possibilities  of  a  study  of  Balzac.  To  Professor 
Henry  Alfred  Todd  she  is  grateful  for  his  sympathetic 
scholarship,  valuable  suggestions  as  to  matter  and  style, 
and  for  his  careful  revision  of  the  manuscript;  to  Profes- 
sor Gustave  Lanson,  for  his  erudition  and  versatile  mind, 
which  have  had  a  great  influence;  to  Professor  F.  M. 
Warren,  for  reading  a  part  of  the  text  and  for  many  gen- 
eral ideas ;  to  Professor  Fernand  Baldensperger,  for  read- 
ing the  text  and  for  encouragement;  to  Professor  Gil- 
bert Chinard,  Professor  Earle  B.  Babcock  and  Professor 
LeBraz  for  re-reading  the  text  and  for  valuable  sugges- 
tions; and  to  Professor  John  L.  Gerig  for  his  sympa- 
thetic interest,  broad  information,  and  inspiring  encour- 
agement. 

vii 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


To  still  another  would  she  express  her  thanks.  The 
Princess  Radziwill  has  taken  a  great  interest  in  this  work, 
which  deals  so  minutely  with  the  life  history  of  her  aunt, 
and  she  has  been  most  gracious  in  giving  the  author  much 
information  not  to  be  found  in  books.  She  has  made 
many  valuable  suggestions,  read  the  entire  manuscript, 
and  approved  of  its  presentation  of  the  facts  involved. 

JUANITA  H.  FLOYD. 
Evansville,  Indiana. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE  ..............    vii 

INTRODUCTION xiii 

AUTHOR'S  NOTE xxix 

I    BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC 5 

II    RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS 

Balzac's  Mother 21 

Madame  Surville  —  Madame  Mallet  —  Madame 
Duhamel 38 

Madame  Sallambier  —  Madame  de  Montzaigle 

—  Madame  de  Brugnolle  —  Madame  Delan- 
noy  —  Madame  de  Pommereul  —  Madame  de 
iMargonne 51 

Madame  Carraud  —  Madame  Nivet      •     •     •     59 

III  LITERARY  FRIENDS 

•Madame  Gay  —  Madame  Hamelin  —  Madame 
de   Girardin  —  Madame   Desbordes-Valmore 

—  Madame  Dorval 72 

La  Duchesse  d'Abrantes 93 

La  Princesse  Belgiojoso  —  Madame  Marbouty 

—  La  Comtesse  d'Agoult  —  George  Sand     .   no 

IV  BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS 

Madame  Bechet —  Madame  Werdet      .     .     .   125 

Madame    Rossini  —  Madame    Recamier  —  La 
Duchesse   de   Dino  —  La  Comtesse  Appony 

—  Madame  de  Bernard  —  Madame  David  — 

La  Baronne  Gerard 129 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

La  Comtesse  Visconti  —  Madame  de  Valette  — 
Mademoiselle  Kozlowska 136 

La  Comtesse  Turheim  —  La  Comtesse  de  Bo- 
carme — La  Comtesse  Merlin  —  La  Prin- 
cesse  Galitzin  de  Genthol  —  La  Baronne  de 
Rothschild  —  La  Comtesse  Maffei  —  La  Com- 
tesse Serafina  San-Severino  —  La  Comtesse 
Bolognini 145 

La  Princesse  Bagration  —  La  Comtesse  Bossi 
—  Madame  Kisseleff —  La  Princesse  de 
Schonburg  —  Madame  Jaroslas  Potogka  — 
La  Baronne  de  Pf  affins  —  La  Comtesse  Del- 
phine  Potogka 153 

Maria  —  Helene  —  Louise      ........   156 

V    SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS 

Madame  de  Berny 164 

La  Duchesse  de  Castries  —  Mademoiselle  de 
Trumilly 182 

Madame  Hanska  —  La  Comtesse  Mniszech  — 
Mademoiselle  Borel  —  Mesdemoiselles  Wyle- 
zynska  —  La  Comtesse  Rosalie  Rzewuska  — 
Mademoiselle  Caliste  Rzewuska — Madame 
Cherkowitsch  —  Madame  Riznitsch  —  La 
Comtesse  Marie  Potocjca  ........  198 

CONCLUSION 277 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 289 

INDEX 309 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Balzac.     From  a  study  in  clay  by  Auguste  Rodin 

Frontispiece 


TACING 
PAGE 


Mme.  Recamier.     From  the  miniature  by  David,  in  the 

Morgan  collection 16 

Mme.  Emile  de  Girardin  (Mile.  Delphine  Gay)  ...     32 

La  Duchesse  d'Abrantes.     From  a  photo-engraving  of 

a  rare  print 64 

George  Sand.     After  a  portrait  by  Delacroix  ...  80 

George  Sand.     En  costume  masculin 128 

Mme.  Desbordes-Valmore 144 

La  Princesse  Belgiojoso 192 

Mme.  de  Berny 208 

Mme.  Hanska.  From  a  miniature  made  in  1820,  the 
year  of  her  first  marriage,  now  in  the  Morgan  col- 
lection   240 

Queen  Maria  Leczinska.     From  the  miniature  by  Jean 

Baptiste  van  Loo,  in  the  Morgan  collection     .      .  256 


A  quantity  of  books  have  been  written  about  Balzac, 
some  of  which  are  very  instructive,  while  others  are  noth- 
ing but  compilations  of  gossip  which  give  a  totally 
wrong  impression  of  the  life,  works  and  personality 
of  the  great  French  novelist.  Having  the  honor  of  being 
the  niece  of  his  wife,  the  wonderful  £trangere,  whom  he 
married  after  seventeen  years  of  an  affection  which 
contained  episodes  far  more  romantic  than  any  of  those 
which  he  has  described  in  his  many  books,  and  having 
been  brought  up  in  the  little  house  of  the  rue  Fortunee, 
afterwards  the  rue  Balzac,  where  they  lived  during  their 
short  married  life,  I  can  perhaps  better  appreciate  than 
most  people  the  value  of  these  different  books,  none  of 
which  gives  us  an  exact  appreciation  of  the  man  or  of 
the  difficulties  through  which  he  had  to  struggle  before 
he  won  at  last  the  fame  which  he  deserved.  And  the 
conclusion  to  which  I  came,  after  having  read  them  most 
attentively  and  conscientiously,  was  that  it  is  often  a  great 
misfortune  to  possess  that  divine  spark  of  genius  which 
now  and  then  touches  the  brow  of  a  few  human  creatures 
and  marks  them  for  eternity  with  its  fiery  seal.  Had 
Balzac  been  one  of  those  everyday  writers  whose  names, 
after  having  been  for  a  brief  space  of  time  on  everyone's 
lips,  are  later  on  almost  immediately  forgotten,  he  would 
not  have  been  subjected  to  the  calumnies  which  embit- 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

tered  so  much  his  declining  days,  and  which  even  after  he 
was  no  longer  in  this  world  continued  their  subterranean 
and  disgusting  work,  trying  to  sully  not  only  Balzac's 
own  colossal  personality,  but  also  that  of  the  devoted 
wife,  whom  he  had  cherished  for  such  a  long  number  of 
years,  who  had  all  through  their  course  shared  his  joys 
and  his  sorrows,  and  who,  after  he  died,  had  spent  the 
rest  of  her  own  life  absorbed  in  the  remembrance  of  her 
love  for  him,  a  love  which  was  stronger  than  death  it- 
self. 

Having  spent  all  my  childhood  and  youth  under  the 
protection  and  the  roof  of  Madame  de  Balzac,  it  was 
quite  natural  that  every  time  I  saw  another  inaccuracy 
or  falsehood  concerning  her  or  her  great  husband  find 
its  way  into  the  press,  I  should  be  deeply  affected.  At 
last  I  began  to  look  with  suspicion  at  all  the  books  deal- 
ing with  Balzac  or  with  his  works,  and  when  Miss  Floyd 
asked  me  to  look  over  her  manuscript,  it  was  with  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  distrust  and  prejudice  that  I  set  myself  to 
the  task.  It  seemed  to  me  impossible  that  a  foreigner 
could  write  anything  worth  reading  about  Balzac,  or  un- 
derstand his  psychology.  What  was  therefore  my  sur- 
prise when  I  discovered  in  this  most  remarkable  volume 
the  best  description  that  has  ever  been  given  to  us  of  this 
particular  phase  of  Balzac's  life  which  hitherto  has  hardly 
been  touched  upon  by  his  numerous  biographers,  his 
friendships  with  the  many  distinguished  women  who  at 
one  time  or  another  played  a  part  in  his  busy  ex- 
istence, a  description  which  not  only  confirmed  down  to 
the  smallest  details  all  that  my  aunt  had  related  to  me 
about  her  distinguished  husband,  but  which  also  gave  an 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

appreciation  of  the  latter's  character  that  entirely  agreed 
with  what  I  had  heard  about  its  peculiarities  from  the 
few  people  who  had  known  him  well,  Theophile  Gautier 
among  others,  who  were  still  alive  when  I  became  old 
enough  to  be  intensely  interested  in  their  different  judg- 
ments about  my  uncle.  After  such  a  length  of  years  it 
seemed  almost  uncanny  to  find  a  person  who  through  sheer 
intuition  and  hard  study  could  have  reconstituted  with 
this  unerring  accuracy  the  figure  of  one  who  had  remained 
a  riddle  in  certain  things  even  to  his  best  friends,  and 
who  in  the  pages  of  this  extraordinary  book  suddenly  ap- 
peared before  my  astonished  eyes  with  all  the  splendor 
of  that  genius  of  his  which  as  years  go  by,  becomes  more 
and  more  admired  and  appreciated. 

One  must  be  a  scholar  to  understand  Balzac;  his  style 
and  manner  of  writing  is  often  so  heavy  and  so  difficult 
to  follow,  reminding  one  more  of  that  of  a  professor  than 
of  a  novelist.  And  indeed  he  would  have  been  very 
angry  to  be  considered  only  as  a  novelist,  he  who  aspired 
and  believed  himself  to  be,  as  he  expressed  it  one  day 
in  the  course  of  a  conversation  with  Madame  Hanska,  be- 
fore she  became  his  wife,  "  a  great  painter  of  humanity," 
in  which  appreciation  of  his  work  he  was  not  mistaken, 
because  some  of  the  characters  he  evoked  out  of  his  won- 
derful brain  remind  one  of  those  pictures  of  Rembrandt 
where  every  stroke  of  the  masten's  brush  reveals  and 
brings  into  evidence  some  particular  trait  or  feature, 
which  until  he  had  discovered  it,  and  brought  it  to  notice, 
no  one  had  seen  or  remarked  on  the  human  faces  which 
he  reproduced  upon  the  canvas.  Michelet,  who  once 
called  St.  Simon  the  "  Rembrandt  of  literature,"  could 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

very  well  have  applied  the  same  remark  to  Balzac,  whose 
heroes  will  live  as  long  as  men  and  women  exist,  for 
whom  these  other  men  and  women  whom  he  described, 
will  relive  because  he  did  not  conjure  their  different 
characters  out  of  his  imagination  only,  but  condensed  all 
his  observations  into  the  creation  of  types  which  are  so 
entirely  human  and  real  that  we  shall  continually  meet 
with  them  so  long  as  the  world  lasts. 

One  of  Balzac's  peculiarities  consisted  in  perpetually 
studying  humanity,  which  study  explains  the  almost  un- 
erring accuracy  of  his  judgments  and  of  the  descriptions 
which  he  gives  us  of  things  and  facts  as  well  as  of  human 
beings.  In  his  impulsiveness,  he  frequented  all  kinds  of 
places,  saw  all  kinds  of  people,  and  tried  to  apply  the 
dissecting  knife  of  his  spirit  of  observation  to  every  heart 
and  every  conscience.  He  set  himself  especially  to  dis- 
cover and  fathom  the  mystery  of  the  "  eternal  feminine  " 
about  which  he  always  thought,  and  it  was  partly  due 
to  this  eager  quest  for  knowledge  of  women's  souls  that 
he  allowed  himself  to  become  entangled  in  love  affairs  and 
love  intrigues  which  sometimes  came  to  a  sad  end,  and 
that  he  spent  his  time  in  perpetual  search  of  feminine 
friendships,  which  were  later  on  to  brighten,  or  to  mar 
his  life. 

Miss  Floyd  in  the  curious  volume  which  she  has  writ- 
ten has  caught  in  a  surprising  manner  this  particular  fea- 
ture in  Balzac's  complex  character.  She  has  applied  her- 
self to  study  not  only  the  man  such  as  he  was,  with  all 
his  qualities,  genius  and  undoubted  mistakes,  but  such 
as  he  appeared  to  be  in  the  eyes  of  the  different  women 
whom  he  had  loved  or  admired,  and  at  whose  hands  he 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

had  sought  encouragement  and  sympathy  amid  the  cruel 
disappointments  and  difficulties  of  an  existence  from 
which  black  care  was  never  banished  and  never  absent. 
With  quite  wonderful  tact,  and  a  lightness  of  touch  one 
can  not  sufficiently  admire,  she  has  made  the  necessary 
distinctions  which  separated  friendship  from  love  in  the 
many  romantic  attachments  which  played  such  an  im- 
portant part  in  Balzac's  life,  and  she  has  in  consequence 
presented  to  us  simultaneously  the  writer,  whose  name 
will  remain  an  immortal  one,  and  the  man  whose  memory 
was  treasured,  long  after  he  had  himself  disappeared,  by 
so  many  who,  though  they  had  perhaps  never  understood 
him  entirely,  yet  had  realized  that  in  the  marks  of  affec- 
tion and  attachment  which  he  had  given  to  them,  he  had 
laid  at  their  feet  something  which  was  infinitely  precious, 
infinitely  real,  something  which  could  never  be  forgotten. 

Her  book  will  remain  a  most  valuable,  I  was  going  to 
say  the  most  valuable,  contribution  to  the  history  of  Bal- 
zac, and  those  for  whom  he  was  something  more  than  a 
great  writer  and  scholar,  can  never  feel  sufficiently  grate- 
ful to  her  for  having  given  it  to  the  world,  and  helped  to 
dissipate,  thanks  to  its  wonderful  arguments,  so  many 
false  legends  and  wild  stories  which  were  believed  until 
now,  and  indeed  are  still  believed  by  an  ignorant  crowd 
of  so-called  admirers  of  his,  who,  nine  times  out  of  ten, 
are  only  detractors  of  his  colossal  genius,  and  remark- 
able, though  perhaps  sometimes  too  exuberant,  individu- 
ality. 

At  the  same  time,  Miss  Floyd,  in  the  lines  which  she 
devotes  to  my  aunt  and  to  the  long  attachment  that  had 
united  the  latter  and  Balzac,  has  in  many  points  re-es- 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

tablished  the  truth  in  regard  to  the  character  of  a  woman 
who  in  many  instances  has  been  cruelly  calumniated  and 
slandered,  in  others  absolutely  misunderstood,  to  whom 
Balzac  once  wrote  that  she  was  "  one  of  those  great 
minds,  which  solitude  had  preserved  from  the  petty  mean- 
nesses of  the  world,"  words  which  describe  her  better 
than  volumes  could  have  done.  She  had  truly  led  a  si- 
lent, solitary,  lonely  life  that  had  known  but  one  love, 
the  man  whom  she  was  to  marry  after  so  many  vicissi- 
tudes, and  in  spite  of  so  many  impediments,  and  but  one 
tenderness,  her  daughter,  a  daughter  who  unfortunately 
was  entirely  her  inferior,  and  in  whom  she  could  never 
find  consolation  or  comfort,  who  could  neither  share  her 
joys,  nor  soothe  her  sorrows. 

In  her  convictions,  Madame  de  Balzac  was  a  curious 
mixture  of  atheism  and  profound  faith  in  a  Divinity  be- 
fore whom  mankind  was  accountable  for  all  its  good  or 
bad  deeds.  All  through  her  long  life  she  had  been  under 
the  influence  of  her  father,  one  of  the  remarkable 
men  of  his  generation,  who  had  enjoyed  the  friendship 
of  most  of  the  great  French  writers  of  the  period  imme- 
diately preceding  the  Revolution,  including  Voltaire;  he 
had  brought  her  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  eighteenth 
century  with  its  touch  of  skepticism,  and  the  Encyclo- 
pedia had  always  remained  for  her  a  kind  of  gospel,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  she  had  been  reared  in  one  of  the 
most  haughty,  aristocratic  circles  in  Europe,  in  a  coun- 
try where  the  very  mention  of  the  words  liberty  and 
freedom  of  opinion  was  tabooed,  and  that  her  mother 
had  been  one  of  those  devout  Roman  Catholics  who 
think  it  necessary  to  consult  their  confessor,  even  in 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

regard  to  the  most  trivial  details  of  their  daily  existence. 
Placed  as  she  had  been  between  her  parents'  incredulity 
and  bigotry,  my  aunt  had  formed  opinions  of  her  own, 
of  which  a  profound  tolerance  and  a  deep  respect  for  the 
beliefs  and  convictions  of  others  was  the  principal  fea- 
ture. She  never  condemned  even  when  she  did  not  ap- 
prove, and  she  hated  hypocrisy,  no  matter  in  what  shape 
or  aspect  it  presented  itself  before  her  eyes.  This  ex- 
plains the  courage  she  displayed  when  against  the  advice 
and  the  wishes  of  her  family,  she  persisted  in  marrying 
Balzac,  though  it  hardly  helps  us  to  understand  from  what 
we  know  of  the  latter' s  character,  how  he  came  to  fall 
so  deeply  in  love  with  a  woman  who  in  almost  everything 
thought  so  differently  from  what  he  thought,  especially 
in  regard  to  those  two  subjects  which  absorbed  and  en- 
grossed him  until  the  last  days  of  his  life,  religion  and 
politics. 

That  he  loved  her,  and  that  she  loved  him,  in  spite  otf 
these  differences  in  their  points  of  view,  is  to  their  mutual 
honor,  but  it  adds  to  the  mystery  and  to  the  enigmatical 
side  of  a  romance  that  has  hardly  been  equalled  in  modern 
times;  and  it  accounts  for  the  fact  that  some  friction  oc- 
curred between  them  later  on,  when  my  aunt  found  her- 
self trying  to  restrain  certain  exuberances  on  the  part  of 
her  husband  regarding  her  own  high  lineage,  about  which 
she  never  thought  much  herself,  though  she  had  always 
tried  to  live  up  to  the  duties  which  it  imposed  upon  her. 
I  am  mentioning  this  circumstance  to  explain  certain  ex- 
aggerations which  we  constantly  find  in  Balzac's  letters 
in  regard  to  his  marriage.  His  imagination  was  ex- 
tremely vivid,  and  its  fertility  sometimes  carried  him  far 


xx  INTRODUCTION 

away  into  regions  where  it  was  nearly  impossible  to  fol- 
low him,  and  where  he  really  came  to  believe  quite  sin- 
cerely in  things  which  had  never  existed.  For  instance 
in  his  correspondence  with  his  mother  and  friends,  he  is 
always  speaking  of  the  necessity  for  Madame  Hanska  to 
obtain  the  permission  of  the  Czar  to  marry  him.  This  is 
absolutely  untrue.  My  aunt  did  not  require  in  the  very 
least  the  consent  of  the  Emperor  to  become  Madame  de 
Balzac.  The  difficulties  connected  with  her  marriage  con- 
sisted in  the  fact  that  having  been  left  sole  heiress  of  her 
first  husband's  immense  wealth,  she  did  not  think  herself 
justified  in  keeping  it  after  she  had  contracted  another 
union,  and  with  a  foreigner.  She  therefore  transferred 
her  whole  fortune  to  her  daughter,  reserving  for  herself 
only  an  annuity  which  was  by  no  means  considerable, 
and  it  was  this  arrangement  that  had  to  be  sanctioned, 
not  by  the  sovereign  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  but 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Russia,  which  at  that  time  was 
located  in  St.  Petersburg.  Balzac,  however,  wishing  to 
impress  his  French  relatives  with  the  grandeur  of  the 
marriage  he  was  about  to  make,  imagined  this  tale  of 
the  Czar's  opposition,  in  order  to  add  to  his  own  im- 
portance and  to  that  of  his  future  wife,  an  invention  which 
revolted  my  aunt  so  much  that  in  that  part  of  her  hus- 
band's correspondence  which  was  published  by  her  a  year 
or  two  before  her  death,  she  carefully  suppressed  all  the 
passages  which  contained  this  assertion  which  had  so 
thoroughly  annoyed  as  well  as  angered  her.  I  have  some- 
times wondered  what  she  would  have  said  had  she  seen 
appear  in  print  the  curious  letter  which  Balzac  wrote 
immediately  after  their  wedding  to  Dr.  Nacquart  in 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

which  he  described  with  such  pomp  the  different  high 
qualities,  merits,  and  last  but  not  least,  brilliant  positions 
occupied  by  his  wife's  relatives,  beginning  with  Queen 
Marie  Leszczinska,  the  consort  of  Louis  XV,  and  ending 
with  the  husband  of  my  father's  stepdaughter,  Count 
Orloff,  whom  the  widest  stretch  of  imagination  could  not 
have  connected  with  my  aunt. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  here  an  anecdote 
which  is  very  typical  of  Balzac.  He  was  about  to  return 
to  Paris  from  Russia  after  his  marriage.  My  aunt  com- 
ing into  his  room  one  morning  found  him  absorbed  in 
writing  a  letter.  Asking  him  for  whom  it  was  intended 
she  was  petrified  with  astonishment  when  he  replied  that 
it  was  for  the  Duke  de  Bordeaux,  as  the  Comte  de  Cham- 
bord  was  still  called  at  the  time,  to  present  his  respects 
to  him  upon  his  entrance  into  his  family!  My  aunt  at 
first  could  not  understand  what  it  was  he  meant,  and 
when  at  last  she  had  grasped  the  fact  that  it  was  in  virtue 
of  her  distant,  very  distant,  relationship  with  Queen 
Marie  Leszczinska  that  he  claimed  the  privilege  of  cousin- 
ship  with  the  then  Head  of  the  Royal  House  of  France, 
it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  and  with  any  amount 
of  trouble  that  she  prevailed  upon  him  at  last  to  give  up 
this  remarkable  idea,  and  to  be  content  with  the  knowledge 
that  some  Rzewuski  blood  flowed  in  the  veins  of  the  last 
remaining  member  of  the  elder  line  of  the  Bourbons, 
without  intruding  upon  the  privacy  of  the  Comte  de 
Chambord,  who  probably  would  have  been  somewhat  sur- 
prised to  receive  this  extraordinary  communication  from 
the  great,  but  also  snobbish  Balzac. 

It  was  on  account  of  this  snobbishness,  which  had  some- 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

thing  childish  about  it,  that  he  sometimes  became  involved 
in  discussions,  not  only  with  my  aunt  but  .also  with  sev- 
eral of  his  friends,  Victor  Hugo  among  others,  who  could 
not  bring  themselves  to  forgive  him  for  thinking  more  of 
the  great  and  illustrious  families  with  which  his  marriage 
had  connected  him  than  of  his  own  genius  and  marvel- 
ous talents.  Hugo  most  unjustly  accused  my  aunt  of 
encouraging  this  "  aberration,"  as  he  called  it,  of  Balzac's 
mind;  in  which  judgment  of  her  he  was  vastly  mis- 
taken, because  she  was  the  person  who  suffered  the  most 
through  it,  and  by  it.  But  this  unwarranted  suspicion 
made  him  antagonistic  to  her,  and  probably  inspired  the 
famous  description  he  left  us  of  Balzac's  last  hours  in  the 
little  volume  called  Chases  vues.  This  was  partly  the 
cause  why  people  afterwards  said  that  my  aunt's  married 
life  with  the  great  writer  had  been  far  from  happy,  and 
had  resolved  itself  into  a  great  disappointment  for  both 
of  them.  The  reality  was  very  different,  because  during 
the  few  months  they  lived  together,  they  had  known  and 
enjoyed  complete  and  absolute  happiness,  and  Madame 
de  Balzac's  heart  was  forever  broken  when  she  closed  with 
pious  hands  the  eyes  of  the  man  who  had  occupied  such 
an  immense  place  in  her  heart  as  well  as  in  her  life. 
Many  years  later,  talking  with  me  about  those  last  sad 
hours  when  she  watched  with  such  tender  devotion  by 
his  bedside,  she  told  me  with  accents  that  are  still  ring- 
ing in  my  ears  with  their  wail  of  agony:  J'ai  irecu  un 
enfer  de  souff ranee  ce  jour  Id:  (I  lived  through  a  hell 
of  suffering  on  that  day.) 

Nevertheless  she  bore  up  bravely  under  the  load  of  the 
unmerited  misfortunes  which  had  fallen  upon  her.     Her 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

first  care,  after  she  had  become  for  the  second  time  a 
widow,  was  to  pay  Balzac's  debts,  which  she  proceeded 
to  do  with  that  thoroughness  she  always  brought  to  bear 
in  everything  she  undertook.  She  remained  upon  the 
most  affectionate  terms  with  his  family,  and  it  was  due 
to  her  that  Balzac's  mother  was  able  to  spend  her  last 
years  in  comfort.  These  facts  speak  for  themselves,  and, 
to  my  mind  at  least,  dispose  better  than  volumes  on  the 
subject  could  do  of  the  conscious  or  unconscious  calumny 
cast  by  Victor  Hugo  on  my  aunt's  memory.  It  must 
here  be  explained  that  the  real  reason  why  he  did  not  see 
her,  when  he  called  for  the  last  time  on  his  dying  friend, 
and  concluded  so  hastily  that  she  preferred  remaining  in 
her  own  apartments  than  at  her  husband's  side,  consisted 
in  the  fact  that  she  did  not  like  the  poet,  who  she  in- 
stinctively felt,  also  did  not  care  for  her,  so  she«preferred 
not  to  encounter  a  man  whom  she  knew  was  antagonistic 
to  herself  at  an  hour  when  she  was  about  to  undergo  the 
greatest  trial  of  her  life,  and  she  retired  to  her  room  when 
he  was  announced.  But  Hugo,  who  had  often  reproached 
Balzac  for  being  vain,  had  in  his  own  character  a  dose  of 
vanity  sufficient  -to  make  him  refuse  to  admit  that  there 
could  exist  in  the  whole  of  the  wide  world  a  human  being 
who  would  not  have  jumped  at  the  chance  of  seeing  him, 
even  under  the  most  distressing  of  circumstances. 

I  have  said  already  that  my  aunt's  opinions  consisted 
of  a  curious  mixture  of  atheism  and  a  profound  belief  in 
the  Divinity.  Her  mind  was  far  too  vigorous  and  too 
deep  to  accept  without  discussion  the  dogmas  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church  to  which  she  belonged  officially,  and 
she  formed  her  own  ideas  as  to  religion  and  the  part  it 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

ought  to  play  in  human  existence.  She  held  the  firm  con- 
viction that  we  must  always  try,  at  least,  to  do  what  is 
right,  regardless  of  the  sorrow  this  might  entail  upon  us. 
In  one  of  her  letters  to  my  mother,  she  says: 

''  You  will  know  one  day,  my  dear  little  sister,  that 
what  one  cares  the  most  to  read  over  again  in  the  book  ofj 
life  are  those  difficult  pages  of  the  past  when,  after  a  hard 
struggle,  duty  has  remained  the  master  of  the  battle  field. 
It  has  buried  its  dead,  and  brushed  aside  all  the  reminders 
that  were  left  of  them,  and  God  in  his  infinite  mercy 
allows  flowers  and  grasses  to  grow  again  on  this  bloody 
ground.  Don't  think  that  by  these  flowers,  I  mean  to 
say  that  one  forgets.  No,  on  the  contrary,  I  am  thinking 
of  remembrance,  the  remembrance  of  the  victory  that  has 
been  won  after  so  many  sacrifices ;  I  am  thinking  of  all 
those  voices  of  the  conscience  which  come  to  soothe  us, 
and  to  tell  us  that  our  Father  in  Heaven  is  satisfied  with 
what  we  have  done." 

A  person  who  had  intimately  known  both  Balzac  and 
my  aunt  said  one  day  that  they  completed  each  other  by 
the  wide  difference  which  existed  in  their  opinions  in  re- 
gard to  the  two  important  subjects  of  religion  and  poli- 
tics. The  remark  was  profoundly  true,  because  it  was 
this  very  difference  which  allowed  them  to  bring  into  their 
judgments  an  impartiality  which  we  seldom  meet  with  in 
our  modern  society.  They  mutually  respected  and  ad- 
mired each  other,  and  even  when  they  were  not  in  per- 
fect accord,  or  just  because  they  were  not  in  perfect  ac- 
cord as  to  this  or  that  thing,  they  nevertheless  tried,  thanks 
to  the  respect  which  they  entertained  for  each  other,  to 
look  upon  mankind,  its  actions,  follies  and  mistakes,  with 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

kindness  and  indulgence.  The  curious  thing  in  regard  to 
their  situation  was  that  my  aunt  who  had  been  born  and 
reared  in  one  of  the  most  select  and  prejudiced  of  aristo- 
cratic circles,  never  knew  what  prejudice  was,  and  re- 
mained until  the  last  day  of  her  life  a  staunch  liberal,  who 
could  never  bring  herself  to  ostracize  her  neighbor,  be- 
cause he  happened  to  think  or  to  believe  otherwise  than 
she  did  herself.  She  was  perfectly  indifferent  to  ad- 
vantages of  birth,  fortune  or  high  rank,  and  she  was 
rather  inclined  to  criticize  than  to  admire  the  par- 
ticular society  and  world  amidst  which  she  moved.  Bal- 
zac on  the  contrary,  though  a  bourgeois  by  origin,  cared 
only  for  those  high  spheres  for  which  he  had  always 
longed  since  his  early  youth,  and  of  which  a  sudden  freak 
of  fortune  so  unexpectedly  had  opened  him  the  doors. 
In  that  sense  he  was  the  parvenu  his  enemies  have  accused 
him  of  being,  and  he  often  showed  himself  narrow 
minded,  until  at  last  his  wife's  influence  made  him  con- 
sider, without  the  disdain  he  had  affected  for  them  be- 
fore, people  who  were  not  of  noble  birth  or  of  exalted 
rank.  On  the  other  hand,  Madame  de  Balzac,  thanks  to 
her  husband's  Catholic  and  Legitimistic  tendencies  and 
sympathies,  became  less  sarcastic  than  had  been  the  case 
when  she  had,  perhaps  more  than  she  ought,  noticed  the 
smallnesses  and  meannesses  of  the  particular  set  of  peo- 
ple who  at  that  period  constituted  the  cream  of  European 
society.  They  both  came  to  acquire  a  wider  view  of  the 
world  in  general,  thanks  to  their  different  ways  of  look-* 
ing  at  it,  and  this  of  course  turned  to  their  great  mutual 
advantage. 

I  will  not  extend  myself  here  on  the  help  my  aunt  was! 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

to  Balzac  all  through  the  years  which  preceded  their  mar- 
riage, when  there  seemed  no  possibility  of  the  marriage 
ever  taking  place.  She  encouraged  him  in  his  work,  in- 
terested herself  in  all  his  actions,  praised  him  for  all  his 
efforts,  tried  to  be  for  him  the  guide  and  the  star  to 
which  he  could  look  in  his  moments  of  dark  discourage- 
ment, as  well  as  in  his  hours  of  triumph.  Without  her 
affection  to  console  him,  he  would  most  probably  have 
broken  down  under  the  load  of  immense  difficulties  which 
constantly  burdened  him,  and  he  never  would  have  been 
able  to  leave  behind  him  as  a  legacy  to  a  world  that  had, 
never  properly  appreciated  or  understood  him,  those  vol- 
umes of  the  Comedie  humaine  which  have  made  his  name 
immortal.  Madame  Hanska  was  his  good  genius  all 
through  those  long  and  dreadful  years  during  which  he 
struggled  with  such  indomitable  courage  against  an  ad- 
verse fate,  and  her  devotion  to  him  certainly  deserved  the 
words  which  he  wrote  to  her  one  day,  "  I  love  you  as  I 
love  God,  as  I  love  happiness !  "  Je  vous  dime  comme  on 
aime  Dieu,  comme  on  aime  le  bonJieur! 

All  this  has  taken  me  very  far  from  Miss  Floyd's  book, 
though  what  I  have  just  written  about  my  uncle  and  aunt 
completes  in  a  certain  sense  the  details  she  has  given  us 
concerning  the  wonderful  romance  which  after  seventeen 
years  of  arduous  waiting,  made  of  Madame  Hanska  the 
wife  of  one  of  the  greatest  literary  glories  of  France. 
Her  work  is  magnificent  and  she  has  handled  it  superbly, 
and  reconstituted  two  remarkable  figures  who  were  be- 
ginning to  be,  not  forgotten,  which  is  impossible,  but  not 
so  much  talked  about  by  the  general  public,  who  a  few 
years  ago,  had  shown  itself  so  interested  in  their  life  his- 


INTRODUCTION  xxvii 

tory  as  it  was  first  disclosed  to  us  in  the  famous  Lettres  & 
I'Etrangere,  published  by  the  Vicomte  Spoelberch  de 
Lovenjoul.  She  has  also  cleared  some  of  the  clouds 
which  had  been  darkening  the  horizon  in  regard  to  both 
Balzac  and  his  wife,  and  restored  to  these  two  their  proper 
places  in  the  history  of  French  literature  in  the  nineteenth 
century.  She  has  moreover  shown  us  a  hitherto  un- 
known Balzac,  and  a  still  more  unknown  fttrangere,  and 
this  labor  of  love,  because  it  was  that  all  through,  can 
only  be  viewed  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  gratitude  by 
the  few  members  still  left  alive  of  Madame  de  Balzac's 
family,  my  three  brothers  and  myself.  I  feel  very  happy 
to  be  given  this  opportunity  of  thanking  Miss  Floyd,  in 
my  brothers'  name  as  well  as  in  my  own,  for  the  splendid 
work  which  she  has  done,  and  which  I  am  quite  certain 
will  ensure  for  her  a  foremost  place  among  the  historians 
of  Balzac. 

CATHERINE,  PRINCESS  RADZIWILL. 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

The  steady  rise  of  Balzac's  reputation  during  the  last 
few  decades  has  been  such  that  almost  each  year  new 
studies  have  appeared  about  him.  While  the  women  por- 
trayed in  the  Comedie  humaine  are  often  commented 
upon,  no  recent  work  dealing  in  detail  with  the  novelist's 
intimate  association  with  women  and  which  might  lead  to 
identifying  the  possible  sources  of  his  feminine  characters 
in  real  life  has  been  published. 

The  present  study  does  not  undertake  to  establish  the 
origin  of  all  the  characters  found  in  the  Comedie  hu- 
maine ,  but  is  an  attempt  to  trace  the  life  of  the  novelist  on 
the  side  of  his  relations  with  various  women, —  a  story 
which  is  even  more  thrilling  than  those  presented  in  many 
of  his  novels, —  in  the  hope  that  it  will  help  explain  some 
of  the  interesting  enigmas  presented  by  his  work.  So  far 
as  the  writer  could  find  the  necessary  evidence,  many  of 
the  women  in  Balzac's  novels  have  been  here  identified 
with  women  he  knew  in  the  course  of  his  life;  and  while 
giving  due  weight  to  the  suggestions  of  various  writers, 
and  indicating  some  of  the  most  striking  resemblances,  she 
has  tried  to  avoid  a  mere  promiscuous  identification  of 
characters. 

In  the  case  of  many  novelists  such  an  investigation 
would  not  be  worth  while,  but  Balzac's  place  in  literature 
is  so  transcendent  and  his  life  and  writings  are  so  closely 
and  fascinatingly  interblended,  that  it  is  hoped  that  the 
following  study,  in  which  the  writer  has  striven  to  main- 


xxx  AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

tain  correctness  of  detail,  may  not  be  unwelcome,  and  that 
it  will  throw  light  on  Balzac's  complex  character,  and  help 
his  readers  better  to  understand  and  appreciate  some  of  his 
most  noted  women  characters.  It  is  believed  that  this 
study  will  show  that  the  influence  of  women  on  Balzac  was 
much  wider  and  his  acquaintance  with  them  much  broader 
than  has  previously  been  supposed. 

Apropos  of  remarks  made  by  Saint e-Beuve  and  Brune- 
tiere  regarding  Balzac's  admission  to  the  higher  circles  of 
society,  fimile  Faguet  has  this  to  say : 

"  I  would  point  out  that  the  duchesses  and  viscountesses 
at  the  end  of  the  Restoration  were  known  neither  to 
Sainte-Beuve  nor  to  Balzac,  the  former  only  having  be- 
gun to  frequent  aristocratic  drawing-rooms  in  1840,  and 
Balzac,  in  spite  of  his  very  short  liaison  with  Madame  de 
Castries,  having  become  a  regular  attendant  only  a  few 
months  before  that  date.  Sainte-Beuve  himself  has  told 
us  that  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  was  dosed  to  men 
of  letters  before  1830,  and  since  it  had  to  spend  a  few 
years  becoming  accustomed  to  their  admittance,  Sainte- 
Beuve's  testimony  is  not  at  all  valid  as  regards  the  great 
ladies  of  the  Restoration,  even  at  the  end." 1 

Perhaps  it  is  due  partly  to  the  above  statement  and 
partly  to  the  fact  that  Balzac  tried  to  give  the  impression 
that  he  led  a  sort  of  monastic  life,  that  it  is  generally  be- 
lieved the  novelist  never  had  access  to  the  aristocratic 
society  of  his  time,  and  never  had  an  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving the  great  ladies  or  of  frequenting  the  marvelous 
balls  and  receptions  that  fill  so  large  a  place  in  his  writings. 

1  Balzac,  p.  150. 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE  xxxi 

Whether  he  made  a  success  of  such  descriptions  is  not  the 
question  here,  but  the  following  pages  will  at  least  furnish 
proof  that  he  not  only  had  many  social  opportunities,  but 
that  his  presence  was  sought  by  many  women  belonging  to 
high  life  and  the  nobility. 

In  presenting  in  the  following  pages  a  somewhat  impos- 
ing list  of  duchesses,  countesses  and  women  of  varying 
degrees  of  nobility,  it  is  not  intended  to  picture  Balzac  as 
a  preux  chevalier,  for  he  was  far  from  being  one.  Even 
in  the  most  refined  of  salons,  he  displayed  his  Rabelaisian 
manners  and  costume,  and  remained  the  typical  author  of 
the  Contes  drolatiques;  but  to  maintain  that  he  never 
knew  women  of  the  upper  class  or  never  even  entered  their 
society,  involves  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts.  Neither 
would  the  present  writer  give  the  impression  that  this  was 
the  only  class  of  women  he  knew  or  associated  with,  for 
he  certainly  was  acquainted  with  many  of  the  bourgeoisie 
and  of  the  peasant  class ;  but  here  it  is  difficult  to  make  out 
a  case,  since  his  letters  to  or  about  women  of  these  classes 
are  rare,  and  literary  men  of  his  day  have  not  given  many 
details  of  his  association  with  them. 

From  Balzac's  youth,  his  most  intense  longings  were 
to  be  famous  and  to  be  loved.  At  times  it  might  almost 
be  thought  that  the  second  desire  took  precedence  over  the 
first,  but  it  was  not  the  ordinary  woman  that  this  future 
Napoleon  litteraire  was  seeking.  His  desire  was  to  win 
the  affection  of  some  lady  of  high  standing,  and  when 
urged  by  his  family  to  consider  marriage  with  a  certain 
rich  widow  of  the  bourgeoisie,  it  can  be  imagined  with 
what  a  sense  of  relief  he  wrote  his  mother  that  the  bird 
had  flown.  An  abnormal  longing  to  mingle  with  the  aris- 


xxxii  AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

tocracy  remained  with  him  throughout  life;  and  during 
his  stay  at  Wierzchownia,  after  having  all  but  made  the 
conquest  of  a  very  rich  lady  belonging  to  one  of  the  most 
noted  families  of  Russia,  he  flattered  himself  by  exagger- 
ating her  greatness. 

Not  being  crowned  from  the  first  with  the  success  he  de- 
sired, Balzac  needed  encouragement  in  his  work.  For 
this  he  naturally  turned  to  women  who  would  give  him  of 
their  time  and  sympathy.  In  his  early  years,  he  received 
this  encouragement  and  assistance  from  his  sister  Laure, 
from  Madame  de  Berny,  Madame  d'Abrantes,  Madame 
Carraud  and  others,  and  in  his  later  life  he  was  similarly 
indebted  to  Madame  Hanska.  They  gave  him  ideas,  cor- 
rected his  style,  conceived  plots,  furnished  him  with  his- 
torical background,  and  criticized  his  work  in  general.  Is 
it  surprising  then  that,  having  received  so  much  from 
women,  he  should  have  accorded  them  so  great  a  place  in 
his  writings  as  well  as  in  his  personal  life? 

While  Balzac  did  not,  as  is  often  stated,  create  the 
"  woman  of  thirty,"  this  characteristic  type  having  al- 
ready appeared  in  Madame  de  StaeTs  Delphine,  in  Ben- 
jamin Constant's  Adolphe,  and  in  Stendhal's  Le  Rouge  et 
le  Noir,  he  must  be  credited  with  having  magnified  her 
charms  and  presented  her  advantages  and  superiority  to  a 
much  higher  degree  than  had  been  done  before.  Women 
indeed  play  in  general  an  important  role  in  his  work; 
many  of  his  novels  bear  their  names;  about  one-third  of 
the  stories  of  La  Comedie  hiimaine  are  dedicated  to 
women;  and  while  not  quite  so  large  a  proportion  of  the 
characters  created  are  women,  they  are  numbered  among 
the  most  important  personages  of  his  prolific  fancy. 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE  xxxiii 

If  we  are  to  believe  his  own  testimony,  his  popularity 
among  women  was  by  no  means  limited  to  his  Paris  en- 
vironment, for  he  writes :  "  Fame  is  conveyed  to  me 
through  the  post  office  by  means  of  letters,  and  I  daily  re- 
ceive three  or  four  from  women.  They  come  from  the 
depths  of  Russia,  of  Germany,  etc. ;  I  have  not  had  one 
from  England.  Then  there  are  many  letters  from  young 
people.  It  has  become  fatiguing.  .  .  ."  2 

It  was  only  a  matter  of  justice  that  women  should  show 
their  appreciation  thus,  for  Balzac  rendered  them  a  gra- 
cious service  in  prolonging,  by  his  enormous  literary  influ- 
ence, the  period  of  their  eligibility  for  being  loved.  This 
he  successfully  extended  to  thirty  years,  even  to  forty 
years;  with  rare  skill  he  portrayed  the  charm  of  a  declin- 
ing beauty  —  as  one  might  delight  in  the  glory  of  a  bril- 
liant autumn  or  of  a  setting  sun.  At  the  same  time,  and 
on  the  one  hand,  he  depicted  the  young  girl  of  various 
types,  and  women  of  the  working  and  servant  class.  And 
since  his  own  life  is  so  reflected  throughout  his  work,  it  is 
of  interest  to  become  acquainted  with  the  inner  and  inti- 
mate side  of  his  genius,  which  has  left  us  some  of  the 
greatest  documents  we  possess  concerning  human  nature. 

Balzac  knew  many  women,  and  to  understand  him  fully 
one  should  study  his  relations  with  them.  If  he  has  por- 
trayed them  well,  it  is  because  he  loved  them  tenderly,  and 
was  loved  by  many  in  return.  These  feminine  affections 
formed  one  of  the  consolations  of  his  life;  they  not  only 
gave  him  courage  but  helped  to  soften  the  bitterness  of  his 
trials  and  disappointments. 

2  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  264,  July  2,  1832.  Letter  to 
Madame  Carraud. 


xxxiv  AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

While  an  effort  has  been  made  in  the  following  work  to 
solve  the  questions  as  to  the  identity  of  the  Sarah,  Maria, 
Sofka,  Constance-Victoire,  Louise,  Caroline,  and  the 
Hclene  of  Balzac's  dedications,  and  to  show  the  role  each 
played,  no  attempt  has  here  been  made  to  lift  the  tightly 
drawn  veil  which  has  so  long  enveloped  one  side  of  Bal- 
zac's private  life.  Whoever  wishes  to  do  this  may  now 
consult  the  recent  publications  of  the  late  Vicomte  de 
Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  or  the  Manage  de  Balzac  by  the 
late  Count  Stanislas  Rzewuski.  It  is  far  more  pleasant 
—  even  if  the  charges  be  untrue  —  to  think  as  did  the  late 
Miss  K.  P.  Wormeley,  that  no  supporting  testimony  has 
been  offered  to  prove  anything  detrimental  to  the  great 
author's  character.  Though  doubtless  much  overdrawn, 
one  prefers  the  delightful  picture  of  him  traced  by  his  old 
friend,  George  Sand.3 

*  Autour  de  la  Table,  p.  210.  See  also  E.  de  Mirecourt,  Les  Con- 
temporains:  Balzac,  p.  46-49,  and  Theophile  Gautier,  Portraits  Con- 
temporains,  p.  71,  72. 


WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE 
OF  BALZAC 


CHAPTER  I 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC 

In  the  delightful  city  of  Tours,  the  childhood  of  Honore 
de  Balzac  was  spent  in  the  midst  of  his  family.  This  con- 
sisted of  an  original  and  most  congenial  old  father,  a 
nervous,  business-like  mother,  two  younger  sisters,  Laure 
and  Laurentia,  and  a  younger  brother,  Henri.  His  ma- 
ternal grandmother,  Madame  Sallambier,  joined  the  fam- 
ily after  the  death  of  her  husband. 

At  about  the  age  of  eight,  Honore  was  sent  to  a  semi- 
military  college.  Here,  after  six  years  of  confinement, 
he  lost  his  health,  not  on  account  of  any  work  assigned  to 
him  by  his  teachers,  for  he  was  regarded  as  being  far  from 
a  brilliant  student,  but  because  of  the  abnormal  amount  of 
reading  which  he  did  on  the  outside.  When  he  was 
brought  home  for  recuperation,  his  old  grandmother  alter- 
nately irritated  him  with  her  "  nervous  attacks  "  and  de- 
lighted him  with  her  numerous  ways  of  showing  her  affec- 
tion. At  this  time  he  wandered  about  in  the  fresh  air  of 
the  province  of  Touraine,  and  learned  to  love  its  beautiful 
scenery,  which  he  has  immortalized  in  various  novels. 

After  he  had  spent  a  year  of  this  rustic  life,  his  family 
moved  to  Paris  in  the  fall  of  1814.  There  he  continued 
his  studies  with  M.  Lepitre,  whose  Royalist  principles 
doubtless  influenced  him.  He  attended  lectures  at  the 
Sorbonne  also,  strolling  meanwhile  about  the  Latin  Quar- 
ter, and  in  1816  was  placed  in  the  law  office  of  M.  de  Guil- 

S 


6      WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

lonnet-Merville,  a  friend  of  the  family,  and  an  ardent 
Royalist.  After  eighteen  months  in  this  office,  he  spent 
more  than  a  year  in  the  office  of  a  notary,  M.  Passez,  who 
was  also  a  family  friend. 

It  was  probably  during  this  period  of  residence  in  Paris 
that  he  first  met  Madame  de  Berny,  she  who  was  later  to 
wield  so  great  an  influence  over  him  and  who  held  first 
place  in  his  heart  until  their  separation  in  1832.  Prob- 
ably at  this  same  period,  too,  he  met  Zulma  Tourangin,  a 
schoolmate  of  his  sister  Laure,  and  who,  as  Madame  Car- 
raud,  was  to  become  his  life-long  friend.  Of  all  the 
friendships  that  Balzac  was  destined  to  form  with  women, 
this  with  Madame  Carraud  was  one  of  the  purest,  longest 
and  most  beautiful. 

Having  attained  his  majority  and  finished  his  legal 
studies,  Balzac  was  requested  by  his  father  to  enter  the 
office  of  M.  Passez  and  become  a  business  man,  but  the 
life  was  so  distasteful  to  him  that  he  objected  and  asked 
permission  to  spend  his  time  as  best  he  might  in  develop- 
ing his  literary  ability,  a  request  which,  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  the  family,  was  finally  granted  for  a  term 
of  two  years.  He  was  accordingly  allowed  to  establish 
himself  in  a  small  attic  at  No.  9  rue  Lesdiguieres,  while 
the  family  moved  to  Villeparisis. 

His  father's  weakness  in  thus  giving  in  to  his  son  was 
most  irritating  to  Balzac's  mother,  who  was  endowed 
with  the  business  faculties  so  frequently  met  with  among 
French  women.  She  was  convinced  that  a  little  experi- 
ence would  soon  cause  her  son  to  change  his  mind.  But 
he,  on  his  part,  ignored  his  hardships.  He  began  to  dream 
of  a  life  of  fame.  In  his  garret,  too,  he  began  to  de- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC      7 

velop  that  longing  for  luxury  which  was  to  increase  with 
the  years,  and  which  was  to  cost  him  so  much.  At  this 
time,  he  took  frequent  walks  through  the  cemetery  of 
Pere-Lachaise  around  the  graves  of  Moliere,  La  Fontaine 
and  Racine.  He  would  occasionally  visit  a  friend  with 
whom  he  could  converse,  but  he  usually  preferred  a  sym- 
pathetic listener,  to  whom  he  could  pour  out  his  plans  and 
his  innermost  longings.  Otherwise  his  life  was  as  soli- 
tary as  it  was  cloistered.  He  confined  himself  to  his 
room  for  days  at  a  time,  working  fiercely  at  the  manu- 
script of  the  play,  Cromwell,  which  he  felt  to  be  a  master- 
piece. 

This  work  he  finished  and  took  to  his  home  for  ap- 
proval in  April,  1820.  What  must  have  been  his  disap- 
pointment when,  certain  of  success,  he  not  only  found 
his  play  disapproved  but  was  advised  to  devote  his  time 
and  talents  to  anything  except  literature !  But  his  courage 
was  not  daunted  thus.  Remarking  that  tragedies  ap- 
peared not  to  be  in  his  line,  he  was  ready  to  return  to  his 
garret  to  attempt  another  kind  of  literature,  and  would 
have  done  so,  had  not  his  mother,  seeing  that  he  would 
certainly  injure  his  health,  interposed;  and  although  only 
fifteen  months  of  the  allotted  two  years  had  expired,  in- 
sisted that  he  remain  at  home,  and  later  sent  him  to 
Touraine  for  a  much  needed  rest. 

During  his  stay  at  home,  he  was  to  suffer  another  dis- 
appointment. His  sister  Laure,  to  whom  he  had  confided ' 
all  his  secrets  and  longings,  was  married  to  M.  Surville 
in  May,  1820,  and  moved  to  Bayeux.  He  was  thus  de- 
prived of  her  congenial  companionship.  The  separation 
is  fortunate  for  posterity,  however,  since  the  letters  he 


8       WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

wrote  to  her  reveal  much  of  the  family  life,  both  pleasant 
and  otherwise,  together  with  a  great  deal  concerning  his 
own  desires  and  struggles.  Thus  early  in  life,  he  re- 
alized that  his  was  a  very  "  original  "  family,  and  re- 
gretted not  being  able  to  put  the  whole  group  into  novels. 
His  correspondence  gives  a  very  good  description  of  their 
various  eccentricities,  and  he  has  later  immortalized  some 
of  these  by  portraying  them  in  certain  of  his  characters. 

Continually  worried  by  his  irritable  mother,  feeling 
himself  forced  to  make  money  by  writing  lest  he  be  com- 
pelled to  enter  a  lawyer's  office,  he  produced  in  five  years, 
with  different  collaborators,  a  vast  number  of  works 
written  under  various  pseudonyms.  He  tutored  his 
younger  and  much  petted  brother  Henri,  but  found  his 
pleasures  outside  of  the  family  circle.  It  was  arranged 
that  he  should  give  lessons  to  one  of  the  sons  of  M.  and 
Mme.  de  Berny,  and  thus  he  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
much  of  Madame  de  Berny,  whose  patience  under  suffer- 
ing and  sympathetic  nature  deeply  impressed  him.  On 
her  side,  she  took  an  interest  in  him  and  devoted  much 
time  to  helping  and  indeed  "  creating  "  him.  Unhappy 
in  her  married  life,  she  must  have  found  the  companion- 
ship of  Balzac  most  interesting,  and  realizing  that  the 
young  man  had  a  great  future,  she  acted  as  a  severe  critic 
in  correcting  his  manuscripts,  and  cheered  him  in  his 
hours  of  depression.  Her  mother  having  been  one  of  the 
Queen's  ladies  in  waiting,  the  Royalist  principles  pre- 
viously instilled  in  the  mind  of  the  young  author  were 
reen forced  by  this  charming  woman,  as  well  as  by  her 
mother,  who  could  entertain  him  indefinitely  with  her  ex- 
citing stories  of  imprisonments  and  hairbreadth  escapes. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC      9 

After  a  few  years  of  life  at  Villeparisis,  Balzac  re- 
moved to  Paris.  He  had  met  an  old  friend,  M.  d'Asson- 
villez,  whom  he  told  of  the  conflict  between  his  family 
and  himself  over  his  occupation,  and  this  gentleman  ad- 
vised him  to  seek  a  business  that  would  make  him  inde- 
pendent, even  offering  to  provide  the  necessary  funds. 
Balzac  took  the  advice,  and  with  visions  of  becoming 
extremely  rich,  launched  into  a  publishing  career,  pro- 
posing to  bring  out  one-vojume  editions  of  various  au- 
thors' complete  works,  commencing  with  La  Fontaine 
and  Moliere.  As  he  did  not  have  the  necessary  capital 
for  advertising,  however,  his  venture  resulted  in  a  loss. 
His  friend  then  persuaded  him  to  invest  in  a  printing- 
press,  and  in  August,  1826,  he  made  another  beginning. 
He  did  not  lack  courage ;  but  though  he  later  manipulated 
such  wonderful  business  schemes  in  his  novels  he  proved 
to  be  utterly  incapable  himself  in  practical  life. 

A  second  time  he  was  doomed  to  failure,  but  with 
his  indomitable  will  he  resolved  that  inasmuch  as  he  had 
met  with  such  financial  disasters  through  the  press,  he 
would  recover  his  fortunes  in  the  same  way,  and  set  him- 
self to  writing  with  even  greater  determination  than  ever. 
Now  it  was  that  Madame  de  Berny  showed  her  true  de- 
votion by  coming  to  his  aid  in  his  financial  troubles  as 
well  as  in  his  literary  ones;  she  loaned  him  45,000  francs, 
saw  to  it  that  the  recently  purchased  type-foundry  became 
the  property  of  her  family,  and,  with  the  help  of  Madame 
Surville,  persuaded  Madame  de  Balzac  to  save  her  son 
from  the  disgrace  of  bankruptcy  by  lending  him  37,000 
francs.  Thus,  after  less  than  two  years  of  experience, 
he  found  himself  burdened  with  a  debt  which  like  a  black 


io    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

cloud  was  to  hang  over  him  during  his  entire  life.  Other 
friends  also  came  to  his  rescue.  But  if  Balzac  did  not 
have  business  capacity,  his  experience  in  dealing  with  the 
financial  world,  of  which  he  had  become  a  victim,  fur- 
nished him  with  material  of  which  he  made  abundant  use 
later  in  his  works. 

In  September,  1828,.  after  this  business  was  tem- 
porarily out  of  the  way,  Balzac  went  to  Brittany  to  spend 
a  few  weeks  with  some  old  family  friends,  the  Pom- 
mereuls.  There  he  roved  over  the  beautiful  country  and 
collected  the  material  for  Les  Chouans,  the  first  novel 
which  he  signed  with  his  own  name.  Notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  before  he  had  reached  his  thirtieth  year, 
he  was  staggering  under  a  debt  amounting  to  about 
100,000  francs,  Balzac  with  his  never-failing  hope  in  the 
future  and  his  ever-increasing  belief  in  his  destiny,  cast 
aside  his  depression,  and  fought  continually  to  attain  the 
greatness  which  was  never  fully  recognized  until  long 
after  his  death. 

He  had  entered  on  what  was  indeed  a  period  of  strug- 
gle. Establishing  himself  in  Paris  in  the  rue  de  Tournon, 
and  later  in  the  rue  de  Cassini,  he  battled  with  poverty, 
lacking  both  food  and  clothing;  but  his  courage  never 
wavered.  Drinking  black  coffee  to  keep  himself  awake, 
he  wrote  eighteen  hours  a  day,  and  when  exhausted  would 
run  away  to  the  country  to  relax  and  visit  with  his  friends. 
The  Baron  de  Pommereul  was  only  one  of  a  rather  nu- 
merous group.  He  frequently  visited  Madame  Carraud 
at  her  hospitable  home  at  Frapesle,  and  M.  de  Margonne 
in  his  chateau  at  Sache  on  the  Indre.  Often  he  would 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC     n 

spend  many  weeks  at  a  time  with  the  latter,  where  he 
made  himself  perfectly  at  home,  was  treated  as  one  of  the 
family,  and  worked  or  rested  just  as  he  wished.  Leading 
the  hermit's  life  by  preference,  he  needed  the  quietude 
of  the  country  atmosphere  in  order  to  recover  from  the 
great  strain  to  which  he  subjected  himself  when  the  fit 
of  authorship  was  upon  him.  Thus  it  happened  that 
several  of  his  works  were  written  in  the  homes  of  various 
friends. 

Les  Chouans  and  other  novels  met  with  success.  Bal- 
zac's reputation  now  gradually  rose,  so  that  by  1831  he 
was  attracting  much  favorable  attention.  Among  the 
younger  literary  set  who  sought  his  acquaintance  was 
George  Sand,  with  whom  he  formed  a  true  friendship 
which  lasted  throughout  his  life.  Now,  too,  though  he 
was  not  betrayed  into  neglecting  his  work  for  society, 
he  accepted  invitations,  won  by  his  growing  reputation, 
to  some  of  the  most  noted  salons  of  the  day,  among  them 
the  Empire  salon  of  Madame  Sophie  Gay,  where  he  met 
many  of  the  literary  and  artistic  people  of  the  time,  in- 
cluding Delphine,  the  daughter  of  Madame  Gay,  who,  as 
Madame  de  Girardin,  was  to  become  one  of  his  intimate 
friends.  Here  he  met  Madame  Hamelin  and  the  Duch- 
esse  d'Abrantes,  who  was  destined  to  play  an  important 
role  in  his  life,  and  also  the  tender  and  impassioned 
poetess,  Madame  Desbordes-Valmore.  The  beautiful 
Madame  Recamier  invited  him  to  her  salon,  too,  and  had 
him  read  to  her  guests,  and  he  was  also  a  frequent  vis- 
itor in  the  salon  of  the  Russian  Princess  Bagration, 
where  he  was  fond  of  telling  stories.  Besides  the  salons, 


12    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

he  was  invited  to  numerous  houses,  dining  particularly 
often  with  the  Baron  de  Trumilly,  who  took  a  great  in- 
terest in  his  work. 

As  his  fame  increased,  letters  arrived  from  various 
parts  of  Europe.  Some  of  these  were  anonymous,  and 
many  were  from  women.  Several  of  the  latter  were 
answered,  and  early  in  1832  Balzac  learned  that  one  of 
his  unknown  correspondents  was  the  beautiful  Marquise 
de  Castries.1  Throwing  aside  her  incognito,  she  invited 
him  to  call,  and  he,  anxious  to  mingle  with  the  exclusive 
society  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  gladly  accepted 
and  promptly  became  enraptured  with  her  alluring  charm. 
It  was  doubtless  owing  to  the  influence  of  her  relative, 
the  Due  de  Fitz-James,  that  he  became  active  in  politics 
at  this  time. 

In  the  course  of  this  same  year  (1832)  there  came  to 
him  an  anonymous  letter  of  great  significance,  dated  from 
the  distant  Ukraine  and  signed  I'Etrangere.  Though  not 
at  the  time  giving  him  the  slightest  presentiment  of  the 
outcome,  this  letter  was  destined  eventually  to  change  the 
entire  life  of  the  novelist.  A  notice  in  the  Quotidienne 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  it  brought  about  a  corre- 
spondence which  in  the  course  of  events  revealed  to  the 
author  that  the  stranger's  real  name  was  Madame  Hanska. 

Love  affairs,  however,  were  far  from  being  the  only 
things  which  occupied  Balzac.  He  was  continually  be- 
sieged by  creditors;  the  clouds  of  his  indebtedness  were 
ever  ready  to  burst  over  his  head.  Meanwhile,  his  mother 
became  more  and  more  displeased  with  him,  and  impa- 
tient at  his  constant  calls  upon  her  for  the  performance 
1  Later  the  Duchess  de  Castries. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC     13 

of  all  manner  of  services.  She  now  urged  him  to  make 
a  rich  marriage  and  thus  put  an  end  to  his  troubles  and 
hers.  But  such  was  not  Balzac's  inclination,  and  he 
rightly  considered  himself  the  most  deeply  concerned  in 
the  matter. 

All  the  while  he  was  prodigiously  productive,  but  the 
profits  from  his  works  were  exceedingly  small.  This  fact 
was  due  to  his  method  of  composition,  according  to 
which  some  of  his  works  were  revised  a  dozen  times  or 
more,  and  also  to  the  Belgian  piracies,  from  which  all 
popular  French  authors  suffered.  In  addition  to  this,  his 
extravagant  tastes  developed  from  year  to  year,  and  thus 
prevented  him  from  materially  reducing  his  debts. 

Unlike  most  Frenchmen,  Balzac  was  particularly  fond 
of  travel  in  foreign  countries,  and  when  allured  by  the 
charms  of  a  beautiful  woman,  he  forgot  his  financial 
obligations  and  allowed  nothing  to  prevent  his  responding 
to  the  call  of  the  siren.  Thus  he  was  enticed  by  the 
Marquise  de  Castries  to  go  to  Aix  and  from  there  to 
Geneva  in  1832,  and  one  year  later  he  rushed  to  Neufcha- 
tel  to  meet  Madame  Hanska,  with  whom  he  became  so 
enamored  that  a  few  months  afterwards  he  spent  several 
weeks  with  her  at  this  same  fatal  city  of  Geneva  where 
the  Marquise  had  all  but  broken  his  heart.  In  the  spring 
of  1835  he  followed  a  similar  desire,  this  time  going  as 
far  as  the  beautiful  city  of  the  blue  Danube. 

The  charms  of  his  sirens  were  not  enough,  however, 
to  keep  so  indefatigable  a  writer  from  his  work.  He 
permitted  himself  to  enjoy  social  diversions  for  only  a 
few  hours  daily  and  some  of  his  most  delightful  novels 
were  written  during  these  visits,  where  it  seemed  that  the 


i4     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

very  shadow  of  feminine  presence  gave  him  inspiration. 
It  should  be  added,  too,  that  in  the  limited  time  given  to 
society  during  these  journeys,  he  not  only  worshiped  at 
the  shrine  of  his  particular  enchantress  of  the  moment, 
but  managed  to  meet  many  other  women  of  social  prom- 
inence. 

As  his  fame  spread,  his  extravagance  increased;  with 
his  famous  cane,  he  was  seen  frequently  at  the  opera,  at 
one  time  sharing  a  box  with  the  beautiful  Olympe.  But 
his  business  relations  with  his  publisher,  Madame  Bechet, 
which  seemed  to  be  promising  at  first,  ended  unhappily; 
and  the  rapidly  declining  health  of  his  Dilecta,  Madame 
de  Berny,  not  to  mention  the  failure  of  another  publisher, 
Werdet,  which  there  is  not  space  here  to  recount,  cast  a 
gloom  from  time  to  time  over  his  optimistic  spirit.  He 
now  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Chronique  de  Paris,  but 
aside  from  the  literary  friendships  involved,  notably  that 
of  Theophile  Gautier,  he  derived  nothing  but  additional 
worries  from  an  undertaking  he  was  unfitted  to  carry  out. 
An  even  greater  anxiety  was  the  famous  lawsuit  with 
Buloz,  which  was  finally  decided  in  his  favor,  but  which 
proved  a  costly  victory,  since  it  left  him  physically  ex- 
hausted. 

In  order  to  recuperate,  he  sought  refuge  in  the  home 
of  M.  de  Margonne,  and  traveled  afterwards  with  Ma- 
dame Marbouty  to  Italy,  where  he  spent  several  pleasant 
weeks  looking  after  some  legal  business  for  his  friends, 
M.  and  Mme.  Visconti.  It  was  on  his  return  from  this 
journey  that  he  learned  of  the  death  of  Madame  de 
Berny. 

During  this  period  of  general  depression,  Balzac  de- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC     15 

voted  a  certain  amount  of  attention  to  another  corre- 
spondent, Louise,  whom  he  never  met  but  whose  letters 
cheered  him,  especially  during  his  imprisonment  for  re- 
fusing to  serve  in  the  Garde  Nationale.  In  the  same 
year  (1836),  he  was  drawn  by  the  charming  Madame  de 
Valette  to  Guerande,  where  he  secured  his  descriptive 
material  for  Beatrix. 

In  the  spring  of  1837  he  went  to  Italy  for  the  second 
time,  hoping  to  recuperate,  and  wishing  to  see  the  bust 
of  Madame  Hanska  which  had  been  made  by  Bartolini. 
He  visited  several  cities,  and  in  Milan  he  was  received  in 
the  salon  of  Madame  Maffei,  where  he  met  some  of  the 
best  known  people  of  the  day.  He  had  now  thought  of 
another  scheme  by  means  of  which  he  might  become  very 
rich, —  always  a  favorite  dream  of  his.  He  believed  that 
much  silver  might  be  extracted  from  lead  turned  out  of 
the  mines  as  refuse,  and  was  indiscreet  enough  to  confide 
his  ideas  to  a  crafty  merchant  whom  he  met  at  Genoa. 
A  year  later,  when  Balzac  went  to  Sardinia  to  investigate 
the  possibility  of  the  development  of  his  plans,  he  found 
that  his  ideas  had  been  appropriated  by  this  acquaintance. 
On  his  return  from  this  trip  to  Corsica  and  Sardinia,  on 
which  he  had  endured  much  physical  suffering,  and  had 
spent  much  money  to  no  financial  avail,  he  stopped  again 
at  Milan  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  Viscontis.  In 
the  Salon  of  this  same  year  (1837),  the  famous  portrait 
by  Boulanger  was  displayed.  About  the  same  time,  to- 
gether with  Theophile  Gautier,  Leon  Gozlan,  Jules  San- 
deau  and  others,  he  organized  an  association  called  the 
Cheval  Rouge  for  mutual  advertisement. 

Balzac  now  bought  a  piece  of  land  at  Ville  d'Avray 


1 6    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

(Sevres),  and  had  a  house  built,  Les  Jar  dies,  which  af- 
forded much  amusement  to  the  Parisians.  He  went  there 
to  reside  in  1838  while  the  walls  were  still  damp.  Here 
he  formed  another  scheme  for  becoming  rich,  this  time 
in  the  belief  that  he  would  be  successful  in  raising  pine- 
apples at  his  new  home.  Les  Jardies  was  a  three-story 
house.  The  principal  stairway  was  on  the  outside,  be- 
cause an  exterior  staircase  would  not  interfere  with  the 
symmetrical  arrangement  of  the  interior.  The  garden 
walls,  not  long  after  completion,  fell  down  as  they  had 
no  foundations,  and  Balzac  sadly  exclaimed  over  their 
giving  way!  After  a  brief  residence  here  of  about  two 
years,  he  fled  from  his  creditors  and  concealed  his  identity 
under  the  name  of  his  housekeeper,  Madame  de  Brugnolle, 
in  a  mysterious  little  house,  No.  19,  rue  Basse,  Passy. 

Aside  from  his  novels,  which  were  appearing  at  a  most 
rapid  rate,  Balzac  wrote  many  plays,  but  they  all  met  with 
failure  for  various  reasons.  Other  literary  activities, 
such  as  his  brief  directorship  of  the  Revue  Parisienne, 
numerous  articles  and  short  stories,  and  his  cooperation 
in  the  Societe  des  Gens-de-Lettres,  which  was  organized 
to  protect  the  rights  of  authors  and  publishers,  occupied 
much  of  his  precious  time;  in  addition,  he  had  his  un- 
remitting financial  struggles. 

This  "  child-man,"  however,  with  his  imagination,  op- 
timism, belief  in  magnetism  and  clairvoyance,  and  great 
steadfastness  of  character,  kept  on  hoping.  Not  dis- 
couraged by  his  ever  unsuccessful  schemes  for  becoming 
a  millionaire,  he  conceived  the  project  of  digging  for 
hidden  treasures,  and  later  thought  of  making  a  fortune 
by  transporting  to  France  oaks  grown  in  distant  Russia. 


^'-ffy      ':  •• 


Mme.  Recamier 
From  the  miniature  by  David,  in  the  Morgan  collection 


In  the  spring  of  1842  Balzac's  novels  were  collected 
for  the  first  time  under  the  name  of  the  Comedie  humaine. 
This  was  shortly  after  one  of  the  most  important  events 
of  his  life  had  occurred,  when  on  January  5  he  received 
a  letter  from  Madame  Hanska  telling  of  the  death  of  her 
husband  the  previous  November.  Balzac  wished  to  leave 
for  Russia  immediately,  but  Madame  Hanska's  permis- 
sion was  not  forthcoming,  and  it  was  not  until  July  of 
1843  tnat  Balzac  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg  to  visit  his 
"  Polar  Star." 

On  his  return  home  he  became  very  ill,  and  from  this 
time  onward  his  robust  constitution,  which  he  had  so 
abused  by  overwork  and  by  the  use  of  strong  coffee,  be- 
gan to  break  under  the  continual  strain  and  his  illnesses 
became  more  and  more  frequent.  His  visit  to  his  Chate- 
laine, however,  had  increased  his  longing  to  be  constantly 
in  her  society,  and  he  was  ever  planning  to  visit  her. 
During  her  prolonged  stay  in  Dresden  in  the  winter  and 
spring  of  1845,  he  became  so  desperate  that  he  could  no 
longer  do  his  accustomed  work,  and  when  the  invitation 
to  visit  her  eventually  came,  he  forgot  all  in  his  haste 
to  be  at  her  side. 

With  Madame  Hanska,  her  daughter  Anna,  and  the 
Count  George  Mniszech,  Anna's  fiance,  Balzac  now  trav- 
eled extensively  in  Europe.  In  July,  after  some  pre- 
liminary journeys,  Madame  Hanska  and  Anna  secretly 
accompanied  him  to  Paris  where  they  enjoyed  the  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  Anna's  former  governess,  Lirette,  who 
had  entered  a  convent.  In  August,  after  visiting  many 
cities  with  the  two  ladies,  Balzac  escorted  them  as  far  as 
Brussels.  In  September  he  left  Paris  again  to  join  them 


1 8     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

at  Baden,  and  in  October,  went  to  meet  them  at  Chalons 
whence  all  four  —  Count  Mniszech  being  now  of  the 
party  —  journeyed  to  Marseilles  and  by  sea  to  Naples. 
After  a  few  days  at  Naples,  Balzac  returned  to  Paris,  ill, 
having  spent  much  money  and  done  little  work. 

Ever  planning  a  home  for  his  future  bride,  and  buying 
objects  of  art  with  which  to  adorn  it,  Balzac  with  his 
numerous  worries  was  physically  and  mentally  in  poor 
condition.  In  March,  1846,  he  left  Paris  to  join  Ma- 
dame Hanska  and  her  party  at  Rome  for  a  month.  He 
traveled  with  them  to  some  extent  during  the  summer, 
and  a  definite  engagement  of  marriage  was  entered  into 
at  Strasbourg.  In  October  he  attended  the  marriage  of. 
Anna  and  the  Count  Mniszech  at  Wiesbaden,  and  Madame 
Hanska  visited  him  secretly  in  Paris  during  the  winter, 
returning  some  weeks  later  to  her  home  at  Wierzchownia. 

He  was  now  in  better  spirits,  and  his  health  was  some- 
what improved,  enabling  him  to  do  some  of  his  best  work, 
but  he  was  being  pressed  to  fulfil  his  literary  obligations, 
and,  as  usual,  harassed  over  his  debts.  In  September  he 
left  for  Wierzchownia,  where  he  remained  until  the  fol- 
lowing February,  continually  hoping  that  his  marriage 
would  soon  take  place.  But  Mme.  Hanska  hesitated, 
and  the  failure  of  the  Chemin  de  Fer  du  Nord  added 
more  financial  embarrassments  to  his  already  large  load. 
The  Revolution  of  1848  brought  him  into  more  trouble 
still,  and  his  health  was  obviously  becoming  impaired. 
Yet  he  continued  hopeful. 

After  spending  the  summer  in  his  house  of  treasures  in 
the  rue  Fortunee,  he  again  left,  in  September,  1848,  for 
Wierzchownia,  this  time  determined  to  return  with  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  BALZAC     19 

shield  or  upon  it.  During  his  prolonged  stay  of  eighteen 
months,  while  his  distraught  mother  was  looking  after 
affairs  in  his  new  home,  his  health  became  so  bad  that  he 
could  not  finish  the  work  outlined  during  the  summer. 
No  sooner  had  he  recovered  from  one  malady  than  he 
was  overtaken  by  another.  Unable  to  work,  distracted 
by  bad  news  from  his  family,  and  being  the  witness  of 
several  financial  failures  incurred  by  Madame  Hanska, 
Balzac  naturally  was  supremely  depressed.  At  this  time, 
a  touch  of  what  may  not  uncharitably  be  termed  snobbish- 
ness is  seen  in  his  letters  to  his  family  when  he  extols  the 
unlimited  virtues  of  his  Predilecta  and  the  Countess  Anna. 

After  seventeen  long  years  of  waiting,  with  hope  con- 
stantly deferred,  Balzac  at  last  attained  his  goal  when, 
on  March  14,  1850,  Madame  Hanska  became  Madame 
Honore  de  Balzac.  His  joy  over  this  great  triumph 
was  beyond  all  adequate  description,  but  he  was  unable 
to  depart  for  Paris  with  his  bride  until  April.  After  a 
difficult  journey,  the  couple  arrived  at  Paris  in  May,  but 
the  condition  of  Balzac's  health  was  hopeless  and  only  a 
few  more  months  were  accorded  him.  With  his  usual 
optimism,  he  always  thought  that  he  would  be  spared  to 
finish  his  great  work,  and  when  informed  by  his  physician 
on  August  17  that  he  would  live  but  a  few  hours,  he  re- 
fused to  believe  it. 

Unless  he  had  been  self -centered,  Balzac  could  never 
have  left  behind  him  his  enormous  and  prodigious  work. 
In  spite  of  certain  unlovely  chases  of  his  private  charac- 
ter and  his  failure  to  fulfil  his  literary  and  financial  obliga- 
tions, he  was  a  man  of  great  personal  charm.  Though  at 
various  times  he  was  under  consideration  for  election  to 


20    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

the  French  Academy,  his  name  is  not  found  numbered 
among  the  "  forty  immortals."  But  he  was  the  greatest 
of  French  novelists,  a  great  creator  of  characters,  who  by 
some  competent  critics  has  been  ranked  with  Shakespeare, 
and  he  has  left  to  posterity  the  incomparable,  though  un- 
finished Comedie  humaine,  which  is  in  itself  sufficient  for 
his  "  immortality." 


CHAPTER  II 
RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS 

BALZAC'S  MOTHER 

"  Farewell,  my  dearly  beloved  mother !  I  embrace  you 
with  all  my  heart.  Oh !  if  you  knew  how  I  need  just  now 
to  cast  myself  on  your  breast  as  a  refuge  of  complete 
affection,  you  would  insert  a  little  word  of  tenderness  in 
your  letters,  and  this  one  which  I  am  answering  has  not 
even  a  poor  kiss.  There  is  nothing  but  .  .  .  Ah !  Mother, 
Mother,  this  is  very  bad!  .  .  .  You  have  misconstrued 
what  I  said  to  you,  and  you  do  not  understand  my  heart 
and  affection.  This  grieves  me  most  of  all !  .  .  ." *• 

The  above  extract  is  sadly  typical  of  a  relationship  of 
thirty  years,  1820-1850,  between  a  mother,  on  the  one 
hand,  who  never  understood  or  appreciated  her  son  — 
and  a  son,  on  the  other,  whose  longings  for  maternal  af- 
fection were  never  fully  gratified. 

Madame  Surville  2  has  described  Balzac's  mother,  and 
her  own,  as  being  rich,  beautiful,  and  much  younger 
than  her  husband,  and  as  having  a  rare  vivacity  of  mind 
and  of  imagination,  an  untiring  activity,  a  great  firmness 
of  decision,  and  an  unbounded  devotion  to  her  family; 

1  Balzac,   Correspondance,  1819-1850,  v.   I,  p.  201,   September  22, 
1832. 

2  Balzac,  sa  Vie  et  ses  (Euvres,  p.  13-15.    To  his  mother  Balzac 
dedicated  Le  Medicin  de  Campagne,  one  of  his  finest  sociological 
studies. 

21 


22     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

but  as  expressing  herself  in  actions  rather  than  in  words. 
She  devoted  herself  exclusively  to  the  education  of  her 
children,  and  felt  it  necessary  to  use  severity  towards 
them  in  order  to  offset  the  effects  of  indulgence  on  the 
part  of  their  father  and  their  grandmother.  Balzac  in- 
herited from  his  mother  imagination  and  activity,  and 
from  both  of  his  parents  energy  and  kindness. 

Madame  de  Balzac  has  been  charged  with  not  having 
been  a  tender  mother  towards  her  children  in  their  in- 
fancy. She  had  lost  her  first  child  through  her  inability 
to  nurse  it  properly.  An  excellent  nurse,  however,  was 
found  for  Honore,  and  he  became  so  healthy  that  later 
his  sister  Laure  was  placed  with  the  same  nurse.  But 
she  never  seemed  fully  to  understand  her  son  nor  even 
to  suspect  his  promise.  She  attributed  the  sagacious  re- 
marks and  reflections  of  his  youth  to  accident,  and  on  such 
occasions  she  would  tell  him  that  he  did  not  understand 
what  he  was  saying.  His  only  reply  would  be  a  sweet, 
submissive  smile  which  irritated  her,  and  which  she  called 
arrogant  and  presumptious.  With  her  cold,  calculating 
temperament,  she  had  no  patience  with  his  staking  his  life 
and  fortune  on  uncertain  financial  undertakings,  and 
blamed  him  for  his  business  failures.  She  suffered  on 
account  of  his  love  of  luxury  and  his  belief  in  his  own 
greatness,  no  evidence  of  which  seemed  sufficient  to 
her  matter-of-fact  mind.  She  continued  to  misjudge 
him,  unaware  of  his  genius,  but  in  spite  of  her  grumbling 
and  harassing  disposition,  she  often  came  to  his  aid  in  his 
financial  troubles. 

Contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his  parents,  who  had  destined 
him  to  become  a  notary,  Balzac  was  ever  dreaming  of 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     23 

literary  fame.  His  mother  not  unnaturally  thought  that 
a  little  poverty  and  difficulty  would  bring  him  to  submis- 
sion; so,  before  leaving  Paris  for  Villeparisis  in  1819 
she  installed  him  in  a  poorly  furnished  mansard,  No.  9, 
rue  Lesdiguieres,  leaving  an  old  woman,  Madame  Comin, 
who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  family  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  to  watch  over  him.  Balzac  has  doubtless 
depicted  this  woman  in  Facino  Cane  as  Madame  Vaillant, 
who  in  1819-1820  was  charged  with  the  care  of  a  young 
writer,  lodged  in  a  mansard,  rue  Lesdiguieres. 

After  fifteen  months  of  this  life,  his  health  became  so 
much  impaired  that  his  mother  insisted  on  keeping  him 
at  home,  where  she  cared  for  him  faithfully.  On  a 
former  occasion  Madame  de  Balzac  had  had  her  son 
brought  home  to  recuperate,  for  when  he  was  sent  away 
to  college  at  an  early  age,  his  health  became  so  impaired 
that  he  was  hurriedly  returned  to  his  home.  Balzac 
probably  refers  to  this  event  in  his  life  when  he  writes,  in 
Louis  Lambert,  that  the  mother,  alarmed  by  the  continu- 
ous fever  of  her  son  and  his  symptoms  of  coma,  took  him 
from  school  at  four  or  five  hours'  notice. 

During  the  five  years  (1820—1825)  that  Balzac  re- 
mained at  home  in  Villeparisis,  he  longed  for  the  quiet 
freedom  of  his  garret;  he  could  not  adapt  himself  to  the 
bustling  family  circle,  nor  reconcile  himself  to  the  noise 
of  the  domestic  machinery  kept  in  motion  by  his  vigilant 
and  indefatigable  mother.  She  was  of  a  nervous,  ex- 
citable nature,  which  she  probably  inherited  from  her 
mother,  Madame  Sallambier.  She  imagined  that  she  was 
ill,  and  of  course  there  was  no  one  to  convince  her  to 
the  contrary.  Had  she  known  that  while  she  thought  she 


24    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

was  contributing  everything  to  the  happiness  of  those 
around  her,  she  was  only  doing  the  opposite,  we  may  be 
sure  that  she  of  all  women  would  have  been  the  most 
wretched. 

Balzac  having  failed  in  his  speculations  as  publisher 
and  printer,  was  aided  by  his  mother  financially,  and  she 
figured  as  one  of  his  principal  creditors  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.3 

M.  Auguste  Fessart  was  a  contemporary  of  the  family, 
an  observer  of  a  great  part  of  the  life  of  Honore,  and  his 
confidant  on  more  than  one  occasion.  In  his  Commen- 
taircs  on  the  work  entitled  Balzac,  sa  Vie  et  ses  Oeuvres, 
by  Madame  Surville,  he  states  that  the  portrait  of 
Madame  de  Balzac  is  flattering  —  a  daughter's  portrait 
of  a  mother  —  and  declares  that  Madame  de  Balzac  was 
very  severe  with  her  children,  especially  with  Honore, 
adding  that  Balzac  used  to  say  that  he  never  heard  his 
mother  speak  without  experiencing  a  certain  trembling 
which  deprived  him  of  his  faculties.  Spoelberch  de 
Lovenjoul,  in  reviewing  the  Commentaircs  of  M.  Fes- 
sart, notes  the  recurring  instances  in  which  pity  is  ex- 
pressed for  the  moral  and  material  sufferings  almost  con- 
stantly endured  by  Balzac  in  his  family  circle.  These 
sufferings  seem  to  have  impressed  him  more  than  any- 
thing else  in  the  career  of  the  novelist.  In  speaking  of 
Balzac's  financial  appeal  to  his  family,  M.  Fessart  notes : 
"  And  his  mother  did  not  respond  to  him.  She  let  him 
die  of  hunger!  ...  I  repeat  that  they  let  him  die  of 
hunger;  he  told  me  so  several  times!  "  When  Madame 

3  6.  Faguet,  Balzac,  p.  12,  is  exaggerating  in  stating  that  Madame 
de  Balzac  sacrificed  her  whole  fortune  for  Honore,  for  much  of  her 
means  was  spent  on  her  favorite  son,  Henri. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     25 

Surville  speaks  of  their  keeping  Balzac's  presence  in 
Paris  a  secret,  saying  that  it  was  moreover  a  means  of 
keeping  him  from  all  worldly  temptation,  M.  Fessart 
replies :  "  And  of  giving  him  nothing,  and  of  allowing 
him  to  be  in  need  of  everything !  "  4  Finally,  when  Ma- 
dame Surville  (p.  75)  speaks  of  her  parents'  not  giv- 
ing Balzac  the  fifteen  hundred  francs  he  desired,  M. 
Fessart  confirms  this,  saying  that  his  family  always  re- 
fused him  money. 

A  letter  from  Balzac  to  Madame  Hanska  testifies  to 
this  attitude  of  his  family  towards  him:  "In  1828  I 
was  cast  into  this  poor  rue  Cassini,  in  consequence  of  a 
liquidation  to  which  I  had  been  compelled,  owing  one  hun- 
dred thousand  francs  and  being  without  a  penny,  when 
my  family  would  not  even  give  me  bread."  5 

MM.  Hanotaux  et  Vicaire,  to  whose  admirable  work 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  often,  state  that  Ma- 
dame de  Balzac  advanced  thirty-seven  thousand  six  hun- 
dred francs  for  Balzac  on  August  16,  1822,  and  that  his 
parents  paid  a  total  of  forty-five  thousand  francs  for 
him.6 

Having  read  M.  Fessart's  description  of  Madame  de 
Balzac,  one  can  agree  with  Madame  Ruxton  in  saying 
that  Balzac  has  portrayed  his  own  youth  in  his  account 
of  the  early  life  of  Raphael  in  La  Peau  de  Chagrin,  Bal- 
zac's mother,  instead  of  Raphael's  father,  being  recog- 
nized in  the  following  passage: 

"  Seen  from  afar,  my  life  appears  to  contract  by  some 

4  Une  Page  Perdue  de  H.  de  Balzac,  116-128. 
6  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  414,  July  12,  1837. 
6  La  Jeunesse  de  Balzac,  p.  94-96. 


26     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

mental  process.  That  long,  slow  agony  of  ten  years'  dura- 
tion can  be  brought  to  memory  to-day  in  some  few  phrases, 
in  which  pain  is  resolved  into  a  mere  idea,  and  pleasure 
becomes  a  philosophical  reflection  .  .  .  When  I  left  school, 
my  father  submitted  me  to  a  strict  discipline;  he  installed 
me  in  a  room  near  his  own  study,  and  I  had  to  rise  at  five 
in  the  morning  and  retire  at  nine  at  night.  He  intended 
me  to  take  my  law  studies  seriously.  I  attended  school, 
and  read  with  an  advocate  as  well;  but  my  lectures  and 
work  were  so  narrowly  circumscribed  by  the  laws  of  time 
and  space,  and  my  father  required  of  me  such  a  strict 
account,  at  dinner,  that  ...  In  this  manner  I  cowered 
under  as  strict  a  despotism  as  a  monarch's  until  I  became 
of  age." 

In  confirmation  of  this  idea,  Madame  Ruxton  7  quotes 
Madame  Barnier,  granddaughter  of  the  Duchesse  d'Ab- 
rantes,  who  knew  both  Balzac  and  his  mother,  and  who 
describes  her  as  a  cold,  severe,  superior,  but  hard-hearted 
woman,  just  the  opposite  of  her  son.  Balzac  himself 
states :  "  Never  shall  I  cease  to  resemble  Raphael  in  his 
garret."  8 

After  the  death  (June  1829)  of  her  husband,  Madame 
de  Balzac  lived  with  her  son  at  different  intervals,  and 
during  his  extended  tour  of  six  months  in  1832  she  at- 
tended to  the  details  of  his  business.  With  her  usual 
energy  and  extreme  activity,  she  displayed  her  ability  in 
various  lines,  for  she  had  to  have  dealings  with  his  pub- 

7  La  Dilecta  de  Balzac,  p.  8-n.    Balzac  states  that  he  has  described 
his  own  life  in  La  Peau  de  Chagrin.    For  a  picture  of  Balzac's  un- 
happy childhood  drawn  by  himself,  see  Revue  des  deux  Mondes, 
March  15,  1920,  pp.  310,  311. 

8  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  54,  October  12,  1833. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     27 

lisher,  do  copying,  consult  the  library, —  sending  him  some 
books  and  buying  others, —  have  the  servant  exercise  the 
horses,  sell  the  horses  and  carriage  and  dismiss  the 
servant,  arrange  to  have  certain  payments  deferred,  send 
him  money  and  consult  the  physician  for  him,  not  to  men- 
tion various  other  duties. 

While  Madame  de  Balzac  was  certainly  requested  to 
do  far  more  than  a  son  usually  expects  of  his  mother,  her 
tantalizing  letters  were  a  source  of  great  annoyance  to 
him,  as  is  seen  in  the  following : 

"  What  you  say  about  my  silence  is  one  of  those  things 
which,  to  use  your  expression,  makes  me  grasp  my  heart 
with  both  hands;  for  it  is  incredible  I  should  be  able  to 
produce  all  I  do.  (I  am  obeying  the  most  rigorous  neces- 
sity) ;  so  if  I  am  to  write,  I  ought  to  have  more  time,  and 
when  I  rest,  I  wish  to  lay  down  and  not  take  up  my  pen 
again.  Really,  my  poor  dear  mother,  this  ought  to  be 
understood  between  us  once  for  all ;  otherwise,  I  shall  have 
to  renounce  all  epistolary  intercourse.  .  .  .  And  this  morn- 
ing I  was  about  to  make  the  first  dash  at  my  work,  when 
your  letter  came  and  completely  upset  me.  Do  you  think 
it  is  possible  to  have  artistic  inspirations  after  being 
brought  suddenly  face  to  face  with  such  a  picture  of  my 
miseries  as  you  have  traced?  Do  you  think  that  if  I  did 
not  feel  them,  I  should  work  as  I  do?  .  .  .  Farewell,  my 
good  mother.  Try  and  achieve  impossibilities,  which  is 
what  I  am  doing  on  my  side.  My  life  is  one  perpetual 
miracle.  .  .  .  You  ask  me  to  write  you  in  full  detail ;  but, 
my  dear  mother,  have  you  yet  to  be  told  what  my  existence 
is?  When  I  am  able  to  write,  I  work  at  my  manuscripts; 
when  I  am  not  working  at  my  manuscripts,  I  am  thinking 
of  them ;  I  never  have  any  rest.  How  is  it  my  friends  are 


28     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

not  aware  of  this?  ...  I  beg  of  you,  my  dear  mother,  in 
the  name  of  my  heavy  work,  never  to  write  me  that  such 
a  work  is  good,  and  such  another  bad :  you  upset  me  for  a 
fortnight."  • 

Balzac  appreciated  what  his  mother  did  for  him,  and 
while  he  never  fully  repaid  her  the  money  she  had  so  often 
requested  of  him,  she  might  have  felt  herself  partially 
compensated  by  these  words  of  affection : 

"  My  kind  and  excellent  mother, —  After  writing  to  you 
in  such  haste,  I  felt  my  inmost  heart  melt  as  I  read  your 
letter  again,  and  I  worshipped  you.  How  shall  I  return 
to  you,  when  shall  I  return  to  you,  and  can  I  ever  return 
to  you,  by  my  love  and  endeavors  for  your  happiness,  all 
that  you  have  done  for  me?  I  can  at  present  only  ex- 
press my  deep  thankfulness.  .  .  .  How  deep  is  my  grati- 
tude towards  the  kind  hearts  who  pluck  some  of  the  thorns 
from  my  life  and  smooth  my  path  by  their  affection.  But 
constrained  to  an  unceasing  warfare  against  destiny,  I 
have  not  always  leisure  to  give  utterance  to  what  I  feel. 
I  would  not,  however,  allow  a  day  to  pass  without  letting 
you  know  the  tenderness  your  late  proofs  of  devotion 
excite  in  me.  A  mother  suffers  the  pangs  of  labor  more 
than  once  with  her  children,  does  she  not,  my  mother? 
Poor  mothers,  are  you  ever  enough  beloved !  .  .  .  I  hope, 
my  much  beloved  mother,  you  will  not  let  yourself  grow 
dejected.  I  work  as  hard  as  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to 
work;  a  day  is  only  twelve  hours  long,  I  can  do  no 
more.  .  .  .  Farewell,  my  darling  mother ;  I  am  very  tired ! 

9  Madame  Surville,  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  268-277, 
July,  1832,  p.  325,  September  30,  (1832).  The  writer  is  not  respon- 
sible for  the  English  of  the  quotations  drawn  from  this  book. 
(See  bibliography  to  the  present  volume,  p.  287.) 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS    29 

Coffee  hurts  my  stomach.  For  the  last  twenty  days  I  have 
taken  no  rest;  and  yet  I  must  still  work  on,  that  I  may 
remove  your  anxieties.  .  .  .  Keep  your  house;  I  had  al- 
ready sent  an  answer  to  Laura,  I  will  not  let  either  you  or 
Surville  bear  the  burden  of  my  affairs.  However,  until 
the  arrival  of  my  proxy,  it  is  understood  that  Laura,  who 
is  my  cash  keeper,  will  remit  you  a  hundred  and  fifty 
francs  a  month.  You  may  reckon  on  this  as  a  regular 
payment ;  nothing  in  the  world  will  take  precedence  of  it. 
Then,  at  the  end  of  November  to  December  10,  you  will 
have  the  surplus  of  the  thirty-six  thousand  francs  to  re- 
imburse you  for  the  excess  of  the  expenditure  over  the 
receipts  during  the  time  of  your  stewardship ;  during 
which,  thanks  to  your  devotion,  you  gave  me  all  the  tran- 
quility  that  was  possible.  ...  I  entreat  you  to  take  care 
of  yourself!  Nothing  is  so  dear  to  me  as  your  health! 
I  would  give  half  of  myself  to  keep  you  well,  and  I  would 
keep  the  other  half,  to  do  you  service.  My  mother,  the 
day  when  we  shall  be  happy  through  me  is  coming  quickly ; 
I  am  beginning  to  gather  the  fruits  of  the  sacrifices  I 
have  made  this  year  for  a  more  certain  future.  Still,  a 
few  months  more  and  I  shall  be  able  to  give  you  that 
happy  life  —  that  life  without  cares  or  anxiety  —  which 
you  so  much  need.  You  will  have  all  you  desire;  our 
little  vanities  will  be  satisfied  no  less  than  the  great  am- 
bitions of  our  hearts.  Oh  do,  I  pray  you,  nurse  your- 
self! .  .  .  Your  comfort  in  material  things  and  your  hap- 
piness are  my  riches.  Oh !  my  dear  mother,  do  live  to  see 
my  bright  future  realized !  "  10 

10  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  295-297,  August  27,  1832, 
P-  337,  October  9,  1832,  pp.  342,  343,  November  5,  1832,  pp.  410,  411, 
November,  1834.  In  speaking  of  Balzac's  relations  to  his  mother, 
Mr.  F.  Lawton  (Balzac,  p.  77)  states:  "Madame  Balzac  was  sacri- 
ficed to  his  improvidence  and  stupendous  egotism ;  nor  can  the  tender- 


30    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Thus  did  the  poor  mother  alternately  receive  letters  full 
of  scoldings  and  of  terms  of  endearment  from  her  son 
whose  genius  she  never  understood.  She  was  faithful  in 
her  duties,  and  her  ambitious  son  probably  did  not  realize 
how  much  he  was  asking  of  her.  But  she  may  have  had 
a  motive  in  keeping  him  on  the  prolonged  visit  during 
which  this  last  letter  was  written,  for  she  was  interested 
in  his  prospective  marriage.  Although  her  full  name  is 

never  mentioned,  the  woman  in  question,  Madame  D , 

was  evidently  a  widow  with  a  fortune,  and  in  view  of  this 
prospect  was  most  pleasing  to  Madame  de  Balzac.  How- 
ever, this  matrimonial  plan  fell  through,  and  Balzac  him- 
self was  never  enthusiastic  over  it.  He  felt  that  his  at- 
tentions to  Madame  D would  consume  his  very  pre- 
cious time,  and  that  the  affair  could  not  come  off  in  time 
to  serve  his  interests.  Could  it  be  that  Balzac  was  al- 
luding to  this  same  Madame  D when  he  wrote  some 

time  later :  "  My  beloved  mother, —  the  affair  has  come 
to  nothing,  the  bird  was  frightened  away,  and  I  am  very 
glad  of  it.  I  had  no  time  to  run  after  it,  and  it  was  im- 
perative it  should  be  either  yes  or  no."  n 

This  marriage  project,  like  many  others  planned  either 
for  or  by  Balzac,  came  to  naught,  and  his  mother  evidently 
became  displeased  with  him,  for  she  left  him  on  his  re- 
turn, when  he  was  in  great  need  of  consolation  and 
sympathy.  As  frequently  happened  under  such  circum- 
stances, Balzac  expressed  his  deep  regrets  at  his  mother's 

ness  of  his  language  —  more  frequently  than  not  called  forth  by  some 
fresh  immolation  of  her  comfort  to  his  interests  —  disguise  this  un- 
pleasing  side  of  his  character  and  action.  .  .  .  And  his  epistolary 
good-byes  were  odd  mixtures  of  business  with  sentiment." 
11  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac  v.  2,  p.  7,  July  19,  1835. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     31 

conduct  to  one  of  his  best  friends,  Madame  Carraud,  and 
confided  to  her  his  loneliness  and  longings. 

Madame  de  Balzac  was  much  occupied  with  religious 
ideas,  and  had  made  a  collection  of  the  writings  of  the 
mystics.  Balzac  plunged  into  the  study  of  clairvoy- 
ance and  mesmerism,  and  his  mother,  interested  in  the 
marvelous,  helped  him  in  his  studies,  as  she  knew  many 
of  the  celebrated  clairvoyants  and  mesmerists  of  the 
time. 

At  various  times,  Balzac's  relations  with  his  mother 
were  much  estranged ;  at  one  time  he  did  not  even  know 
where  she  was.  When  she  was  disappointed  in  her  fa- 
vorite child,  Henri,  she  seemed  to  recognize  the  great 
wrong  involved  in  her  lack  of  affection  for  Honore 
and  his  sister  Laure.  But  she  never  gave  him  the  at- 
tentions that  he  longed  for.  In  May,  1840,  he  wrote  to 
Madame  Hanska  that  he  was  especially  sad  on  the  day 
of  his  fete  catholique  (May  16)  as,  since  the  death  of 
Madame  de  Berny,  there  was  no  one  to  observe  this 
occasion,  though  during  her  life  every  day  was  a  fete 
day;  he  was  too  busy  to  join  with  his  sister  Laure  in 
the  mutual  observance  of  their  birthdays,  and  his  mother 
cared  little  for  him;  once  the  Duchesse  de  Castries  had 
sent  him  a  most  beautiful  bouquet, —  but  now  there  was 
no  one. 

The  same  year  (1840)  he  took  his  mother  to  live  with 
him  A  ux  jar  dies.  This  he  regarded  as  an  additional 
burden.  Her  continual  harassing  him  for  the  money  he 
still  owed  her,  her  nervous  and  discordant  disposition,  her 
constant  intrigues  to  force  him  to  marry,  and  her  numer- 
ous little  acts  that  placed  him  in  positions  beneath  the 


32 

dignity  of  an  author's  standing  were  an  incessant  source 
of  annoyance  to  him. 

She  did  not  remain  with  him  long,  but  he  tried  to  per- 
form his  filial  duties  and  make  her  comfortable,  as  various 
letters  show.  One  of  these  reads  as  follows: 

"  My  dear  Mother, —  It  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  enter 
into  the  engagement  you  ask  of  me,  and  to  do  so  without 
reflection  would  entail  consequences  most  serious  both  for 
you  and  for  myself.  The  money  necessary  for  my  exist- 
ence is,  as  it  were,  wrung  from  what  should  go  to  pay 
my  debts,  and  hard  work  it  is  to  get  it.  The  sort  of  life 
I  lead  is  suitable  for  no  one;  it  wears  out  relations  and 
friends;  all  fly  from  my  dreary  house.  My  affairs  will 
become  more  and  more  difficult  to  manage,  not  to  say 
impossible.  The  failure  of  my  play,  as  regards  money, 
still  further  complicates  my  situation.  I  find  it  impos- 
sible to  work  in  the  midst  of  all  the  little  storms  raised  up 
in  a  household  where  the  members  do  not  live  in  harmony. 
My  work  has  become  feeble  during  the  last  year,  as  any 
one  can  see.  I  am  in  doubt  what  to  do.  But  I  must 
come  to  some  determination  within  a  few  days.  When 
my  furniture  has  been  sold,  and  when  I  have  disposed  of 
'  Les  Jardies,'  I  shall  not  have  much  left.  And  I  shall 
find  myself  alone  in  the  world  with  nothing  but  my  pen, 
and  an  attic.  In  such  a  situation  shall  I  be  able  to  do 
more  for  you  than  I  am  doing  at  this  moment?  I  shall 
have  to  live  from  hand  to  mouth  by  writing  articles  which 
I  can  no  longer  write  with  the  agility  of  youth  which  is 
mine  no  more.  The  world,  and  even  relations,  mistake 
me ;  I  am  engrossed  by  my  work,  and  they  think  I  am  ab- 
sorbed in  myself.  I  am  not  blind  to  the  fact,  that  up  to 


Mme.  Emile  de  Girardin 
(Mile.  Delphine  Gay) 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     33 

the  present  moment,  working  as  I  work,  I  have  not  suc- 
ceeded in  paying  my  debts,  nor  in  supporting  myself.  No 
future  will  save  me.  I  must  do  something  else,  look  out 
for  some  other  position.  And  it  is  at  a  time  like  this  that 
you  ask  me  to  enter  into  such  an  engagement !  Two  years 
ago  I  should  have  done  so,  and  have  deceived  myself. 
Now  all  I  can  say  is,  come  to  me  and  share  my  crust.  You 
were  in  a  tolerable  position;  I  had  a  domestic  whose  de- 
votion spared  you  all  the  worry  of  housekeeping ;  you 
were  not  called  on  to  enter  into  every  detail,  you  were 
quiet  and  peaceful.  You  wished  me  to  count  for  some- 
thing in  your  life,  when  it  was  imperative  for  you  to  for- 
get my  existence  and  allow  me  the  entire  liberty  without 
which  I  can  do  nothing.  It  is  not  a  fault  in  you,  it  is  the 
nature  of  women.  Now  everything  is  changed.  If  you 
wish  to  come  back,  you  will  have  to  bear  a  little  of  the 
burden  which  is  about  to  weigh  me  down,  and  which 
hitherto  has  only  pressed  upon  you  because  you  chose  to 
take  it  on  yourself.  All  this  is  business,  and  in  no  way 
involves  my  affection  for  you,  which  is  always  the  same ; 
so  believe  in  the  tenderness  of  your  devoted  son."  13 

Later,  when  Balzac  purchased  his  home  in  the  rue 
Fortunee,  his  mother  had  the  care  of  it  while  he  was  in 
Russia.  He  asked  her  to  visit  the  house  weekly  and  to 
keep  the  servants  on  the  alert  by  enquiring  as  though  she 
expected  him;  yet  Balzac  wrote  his  nieces  to  have  their 
grandmother  visit  them  often,  lest  she  carry  too  far  the 
duties  she  imposed  on  herself  in  looking  after  his  little 
home.  He  cautioned  her  to  allow  no  one  to  enter  the 
house,  to  insist  that  his  old  servant  Francois  be  discreet, 
12  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  176-178,  April,  1842. 


34     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

and  especially  that  she  be  prudent  in  not  talking  about 
his  plans ;  and  that  by  all  means  she  should  take  a  carriage 
while  attending  to  his  affairs;  this  request  was  not  only 
from  him  but  also  from  Madame  Hanska. 

She  was  most  faithful  in  looking  after  his  home  and 
watching  the  workmen  to  see  that  his  instructions  were 
carried  out.  In  fact,  she  never  left  the  house  except 
when,  on  one  occasion,  owing  to  the  excessive  odors  of 
the  paint,  she  spent  two  nights  in  Laure's  home. 

Balzac's  stay  at  Wierzchownia,  however,  was  far  from 
tranquil,  for  his  mother  was  discontented  with  the  gen- 
eral aspect  of  his  affairs  and  increased  his  vexations  by 
writing  a  letter  in  which  she  addressed  him  as  vous, 
declaring  that  her  affection  was  conditional  on  his  be- 
havior, a  thing  he  naturally  resented.  "  To  think,"  he 
writes,  "  of  a  mother  reserving  the  right  to  love  a  son 
like  me,  seventy-two  years  on  the  one  side,  and  fifty  on 
the  other!"13 

This  letter  caused  a  serious  complication  in  his  affairs 
in  Russia,  but  the  mother  evidently  became  reconciled 
for  a  few  months  later  she  wrote  to  him  expressing  her 
joy  at  the  news  of  his  recovery,  and  asking  him  to  extend 
to  his  friends  her  most  sincere  thanks  for  their  care  of 
him  in  his  serious  illness.  Aside  from  knowing  of  his 
illness  and  her  inability  to  see  him,  she  was  most  happy 
in  feeling  that  he  was  with  such  good  friends. 

She  complained  of  his  not  writing  oftener,  but  he  re- 
plied that  he  had  written  to  her  seven  times  during  his 
absence,  that  the  letters  were  posted  by  his  hostess  and 
that  he  did  not  wish  to  abuse  the  hospitality  with  which 

13  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  354,  March  22,  1849. 


35 

he  was  so  royally  and  magnificently  entertained.  He  re- 
sented his  mother's  dictating  to  him,  a  man  fifty  years  of 
age,  as  to  how  often  he  should  write  to  his  nieces,  for 
while  he  enjoyed  receiving  their  letters,  he  thought  they 
should  feel  honored  in  receiving  letters  from  him  when- 
ever he  had  time  to  write  to  them. 

When  the  poor  mother  attempted  to  be  gracious  to  her 
son  by  sending  him  a  box  of  bonbons,  she  only  brought 
him  trouble,  for  she  packed  it  in  newspapers,  and  in  pass- 
ing the  custom-house,  it  was  taken  out  and  the  candy 
crushed.  Instead  of  thanking  her  for  her  good  inten- 
tions, he  rebuked  her  for  her  stupidity  in  regard  to  send- 
ing printed  matter  into  Russia,  as  it  endangered  his  stay 
there. 

Balzac  was  always  striving  to  pay  his  mother  his  long- 
standing indebtedness,  but  the  Revolution  of  1848,  in 
connection  with  his  continued  illness,  made  this  impos- 
sible. This  burden  of  debt  was  also,  at  this  time,  pre- 
venting his  obtaining  a  successful  termination  of  his  mis- 
sion to  Russia,  for,  as  he  explained  to  his  mother,  the 
lady  concerned  did  not  care  to  marry  him  while  he  was 
still  encumbered  with  debt.  Being  a  woman  past  forty, 
she  desired  that  nothing  should  disturb  the  tranquillity 
in  which  she  wished  to  live. 

Owing  to  this  critical  situation  and  to  his  poor  health, 
Balzac  had  repeatedly  requested  his  mother  never  to 
write  depressing  news  to  him,  but  she  paid  little  attention 
to  this  request  and  sent  him  a  letter  hinting  at  trouble  in 
so  vague  a  manner  and  with  such  disquieting  expressions 
that,  in  his  extremely  nervous  condition,  it  might  have 
proved  fatal  to  him.  Yet  it  did  not  affect  him  so  sen- 


36    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

ously  as  it  did  Madame  Hanska,  who  read  the  letter  to 
him,  for,  owing  to  his  terrible  illness  and  the  method  of 
treatment,  his  eyes  had  become  so  weak  that  he  could  no 
longer  see  in  the  evening.  Madame  Hanska  was  so 
deeply  interested  in  everything  that  concerned  Balzac  that 
this  news  made  her  very  ill.  For  them  to  live  in  sus- 
pense for  forty  days  without  knowing  anything  definite 
was  far  worse  than  it  would  have  been  had  his  mother 
enumerated  in  detail  the  various  misfortunes.  From  the 
preceding  revelations  of  the  disposition  of  Madame  de 
Balzac,  one  can  easily  understand  how  it  happened  that 
her  son  has  immortalized  some  of  her  traits  in  the  char- 
acter of  Cousuie  Bette. 

During  the  remainder  of  Balzac's  stay  in  the  Ukraine, 
he  was  preoccupied  with  the  thought  of  his  mother  having 
every  possible  comfort,  with  his  becoming  acclimatized 
in  Russia, —  impossible  though  it  was  for  him  in  his 
condition, — rand  above  all  with  the  realization  of  his 
long-cherished  hope.  But  he  cautioned  his  mother  to 
observe  the  greatest  discretion  in  regard  to  this  hope,  for 
"  such  things  are  never  certain  until  one  leaves  the  church 
after  the  ceremony."  14 

What  must  have  been  his  feeling  of  triumph  when  he 
was  able  to  write : 

"  My  very  dear  Mttther, —  Yesterday,  at  seven  in  the 
morning,  thanks  be  to  God,  my  marriage  was  blessed  and 
celebrated  in  the  church  of  Saint  Barbara,  at  Berditchef, 
by  the  deputy  of  the  Bishop  of  Jitomir.  Monseigneur 
wished  to  have  married  me  himself,  but  being  unable,  he 

14  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  389,  March  n,  1850. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     37 

sent  a  holy  priest,  the  Count  Abbe  Czarouski,  the  eldest 
of  the  glories  of  the  Polish  Roman  Catholic  Church,  as 
his  representative.  Madame  Eve  de  Balzac,  your  daugh- 
ter-in-law, in  order  to  make  an  end  of  all  obstacles,  has 
taken  an  heroic  and  sublimely  maternal  resolution,  viz., 
to  give  up  all  her  fortune  to  her  children,  only  reserving 
an  annuity  to  'herself.  .  .  .  There  are  now  two  of  us  to 
thank  you  for  all  the  good  care  you  have  taken  of  our 
house,  as  well  as  to  testify  to  you  our  respectful  ten- 
dresses."  15 

Balzac  was  not  only  anxious  that  his  bride  should  be 
properly  received,  but  also  that  his  mother  should  pre- 
serve her  dignity.  On  their  way  home  he  writes  her 
from  Dresden  to  have  the  house  ready  for  their  arrival 
(May  19,  20,  21 ),  urging  that  she  go  either  to  her  own 
home  or  to^Laure's,  for  it  would  not  be  proper  for  her  to 
receive  her  daughter-in-law  in  the  rue  Fortunee,  and 
that  she  should  not  call  until  his  wife  had  called  on  her. 
After  reminding  her  again  not  to  forget  to  procure 
flowers,  he  suggests  that  owing  to  his  extremely  feeble 
health  he  meet  her  at  Laure's,  for  there  he  would  have 
one  less  flight  of  stairs  to  climb.  These  suggestions,  how- 
ever, were  unnecessary,  as  his  mother  had  been  ill  in  bed 
for  several  weeks  in  Laure's  house. 

After  the  novelist's  return  to  Paris  with  his  bride,  his 
physical  condition  was  such  that  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of 
his  beloved  physician,  Dr.  Nacquart,  little  could  be  done 
for  him,  and  he  was  destined  to  pass  away  within  a  short 
time.  Balzac's  mother,  she  with  whom  he  had  had  so 
many  misunderstandings,  she  who  had  doubtless  never 

16  Ibid.,  p.  391,  March  15,  1850. 


3 8     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

fully  appreciated  his  greatness  but  who  had  sacrificed  her 
physical  strength  and  worldly  goods  for  his  sake,  an  old 
woman  of  almost  seventy-two  years,  showed  her  true 
maternal  love  by  remaining  with  her  glorious  and  im- 
mortal son  in  his  last  moments. 


MADAME   SURVILLE  —  MADAME   MALLET  — 
MADAME   DUHAMEL 

"  To  the  Casket  containing  all  things  delightful ;  to  the 
Elixir  of  Virtue,  of  Grace,  and  of  Beauty;  to  the  Gem, 
to  the  Prodigy  of  all  Normandy ;  to  the  Pearl  of  Bayeux ; 
to  the  Fairy  of  St.  Laurence ;  to  the  Madonna  of  the  Rue 
Teinture ;  to  the  Guardian  Angel  of  Caen ;  to  the  Goddess 
of  Enchanting  Spells ;  to  the  Treasury  of  all  Friendship  — 
to  Laura!"16 

Two  years  younger  than  Balzac,  his  sister,  Laure,  not 
only  played  an  important  part  in  his  life,  but  after  his 
death  rendered  valuable  service  by  writing  his  life  and 
publishing  a  part  of  his  correspondence.17  Being  reared 
by  the  same  nurse  as  he,  and  having  had  the  same  home 
environment,  she  was  the  first  of  his  intimate  companions, 
and  throughout  a  large  part  of  his  life  remained  one  of 
the  most  sympathetic  of  all  his  confidantes.  As  children 
they  loved  each  other  tenderly,  and  his  chivalrous  pro- 
tection of  her  led  to  his  being  punished  more  than  once 

16  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  165,  1822. 

17  MM.  Hanotaux  et  Vicaire,  Le  Jeunesse  de  Balzac,  p.  3,  4,  have 
correctly  observed  that  Balzac's  sister,  Madame  Surville,  has  writ- 
ten a  most  delicate  and  interesting  book,  but  that  she  has  not  cor- 
rectly portrayed  her  brother  because  she  was  blinded  by  her  devo- 
tion to  him. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     39 

without  betraying  her  childish  guilt.  Once  when  she 
arrived  in  time  to  confess,  he  asked  her  to  avow  nothing 
the  next  time,  as  he  liked  to  be  scolded  for  her. 

He  it  was  who  accompanied  her  to  dances,  but  having 
had  the  misfortune  to  slip  and  fall  on  one  such  occasion 
he  was  so  sensitive  to  the  amused  smiles  of  the  ladies  that 
he  gave  up  dancing,  and  decided  to  dominate  society  other- 
wise than  by  the  graces  and  talents  of  the  drawing-room. 
Thus  it  was  that  he  became  merely  a  spectator  of  these 
festivities,  the  memory  of  which  he  utilized  later. 

It  was  to  Laure  that,  in  the  strictest  confidence,  he  sent 
the  plan  of  his  first  work,  the  tragedy  Cromwell,  writing 
at  the  top  of  his  letter :  "  For  yourself  alone," —  wishing 
it  to  be  a  surprise  to  the  rest  of  the  family  when  finished. 
To  her  he  looked  for  moral  support,  asking  her  to  have 
faith  in  him,  for  he  needed  some  one  to  believe  in  him. 
To  her  also  he  confided  his  ambitions  early  in  his  career, 
saying  that  his  two  greatest  desires  were  to  be  famous  and 
to  be  loved. 

Laure  was  married  in  May,  1820,  to  M.  Midi  de  la 
Greneraye  Surville,  and  moved  from  her  home  in  Ville- 
parisis  to  Bayeux.  When  she  became  homesick  Balzac 
wrote  her  cheerful  letters,  suggesting  various  means  of 
employing  her  time.  His  admiration  of  her  was  such 
that  he  even  asked  her  to  select  for  him  a  wife  of  her 
own  type.  He  explained  to  her  that  his  affection  was  not 
diminished  an  atom  by  distance  or  by  silence,  for  there 
are  torrents  which  make  a  terrible  to-do  and  yet  their 
beds  are  dry  in  a  few  days,  and  there  are  waters  which 
flow  quietly,  but  flow  forever. 

Madame  Surville  seems  to  have  been  the  impersona- 


40    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

tion  of  discretion  and  appreciation;  she  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  all  the  characters  in  his  work  and  made 
valuable  suggestions ;  he  was  most  happy  when  discussing 
plans  with  her.  He  longed  to  have  his  glory  reflect  on 
his  family  and  make  the  name  of  Balzac  illustrious. 
When  carried  away  with  some  beautiful  idea,  he  seemed 
to  hear  her  tender  voice  encouraging  him.  He  felt  that 
were  it  not  for  her  devotion  to  the  duties  of  her  home, 
their  intimacy  might  have  become  even  more  precious, 
and  that  stimulated  by  a  literary  atmosphere  she  might 
herself  have  become  a  writer. 

He  consulted  her  frequently  with  regard  to  literary 
help,  once  asking  her  to  use  all  her  cleverness  in  writing 
out  fully  her  ideas  on  the  subject  of  the  Deux  Rencontres, 
about  which  she  had  told  him,  for  he  wished  to  insert 
them  in  the  Femme  de  trente  Ans.  As  early  as  1822 
she  received  a  similar  request  asking  her  to  prepare  for 
him  a  manuscript  of  the  Vicaire  des  Ardennes;  she  was  to 
prepare  the  first  volume  and  he  would  finish  it.  And 
many  years  later  (1842),  Balzac  asked  his  sister  to  fur- 
nish him  with  ideas  for  a  story  for  young  people.  After 
the  name  of  this  story  had  been  changed  a  few  times,  it 
was  published  under  the  title  of  Un  Debut  dans  la  Vie. 
This  explains  why  Balzac  used  the  following  words  in 
dedicating  it  to  her : 18  "  To  Laure.  May  the  brilliant 
and  modest  intellect  that  gave  me  the  subject  of  this 
scene  have  the  honor  of  it !  "  This,  however,  was  not  the 
first  time  he  had  honored  her  by  dedicating  one  of  his 

18  For  details,  see  S.  de  Lovenjoul,  Un  Roman  d' Amour,  Les  Ava- 
tars d'un  Roman,  pp.  162,  163. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS    41 

works  to  her,  for  in  1835  he  inscribed  to  "  Almae  Sorori  " 
a  short  story,  Les  Proscrits. 

Balzac  was  often  depressed,  and  felt  that  even  his  own 
family  was  not  in  sympathy  with  his  efforts;  he  told  his 
sister  that  the  universe  would  be  startled  at  his  works 
before  his  relations  or  friends  would  believe  in  their  ex- 
istence. Yet  he  knew  that  they  did  appreciate  him  to  a 
certain  extent,  for  his  sister  wrote  him  that  in  reading 
the  Recherche  de  I'Absolu,  and  thinking  that  her  own 
brother  was  the  author  of  it,  she  wept  for  joy. 

In  his  youth,  at  all  events,  Balzac  seems  to  have  had 
no  secrets  from  his  sister,  and  it  is  to  her  that  the  much 
disputed  letter  of  Saturday,  October  12,  1833,  was  ad- 
dressed.19 Their  friendship  was  sincere  and  devoted; 
and  yet  there  were  coolnesses,  caused  largely  by  the  in- 
fluence of  their  mother, —  and  of  M.  Surville,  whose 
jealous  and  tyrannical  disposition  prevented  their  seeing 
each  other  as  frequently  as  they  would  have  liked.  She 
once  celebrated  her  birthday  by  visiting  her  brother,  but 
she  held  her  watch  in  her  hand  as  she  had  only  twenty 
minutes  for  the  meeting.  For  awhile,  he  could  not  visit 
her;  later,  this  estrangement  was  overcome,  and  after 
the  first  presentation  of  his  play  Vautrin  (1840),  his 
sister  cared  for  him  in  her  home  during  his  illness. 

Madame  Surville  performed  many  duties  for  her 
brother,  but  was  not  always  skilful  in  allaying  the  de- 
mands of  his  creditors.  On  Balzac's  return  from  a  visit 

19  For  this  letter  in  full  and  its  authenticity,  see  Roman  d' Amour, 
pp.  79-88.  For  discussion  of  the  authenticity  of  this  letter,  see  K.  P. 
Wormeley,  Memoir  of  Balzac,  Appendix  Vindication  of  Balzac. 


42     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

to  Madame  Hanska  in  Vienna,  he  found  that  his  affairs 
were  in  great  disorder,  and  that  his  sister,  frightened  at 
the  conditions,  had  pawned  his  silverware.  In  planning 
at  a  later  date  to  leave  France,  however,  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  entrust  his  treasures  to  his  sister,  saying  that  she 
would  be  a  most  faithful  "  dragon."  He  was  also  wisely 
thoughtful  of  her;  on  one  occasion  when  she  had  gone 
to  a  masked  ball  contrary  to  her  husband's  wishes,  Balzac 
went  after  her  and  took  her  home  without  giving  her  time 
to  go  round  the  room. 

She  evidently  had  more  influence  over  their  mother 
than  had  he,  for  he  asked  her  when  on  the  verge  of 
taking  Madame  de  Balzac  into  his  home  again,  to  assist 
him  in  making  her  reasonable : 

*'  If  she  likes,  she  can  be  very  happy,  but  tell  her  that 
she  must  encourage  happiness  and  not  frighten  it  away. 
She  will  have  near  her  a  confidential  attendant  and  a 
servant,  and  she  will  be  taken  care  of  in  the  way  she  likes. 
Her  room  is  as  elegant  as  I  can  make  it.  ...  Make  her 
promise  not  to  object  to  what  I  wish  her  to  do  as  regards 
her  dress ;  I  do  not  wish  her  to  be  dressed  otherwise  than 
as  she  ought  to  be,  it  would  give  me  great  pain  .  .  ."  20 

During  his  prolonged  stay  in  Russia,  he  requested  his 
sister  to  conceal  from  their  mother  the  true  condition  of 
his  illness  and  the  uncertainty  of  his  marriage,  and  to 
entreat  her  to  avoid  anything  in  her  letters  which  might 
cause  him  pain.  Feeling  that  she  would  never  have  al- 
lowed such  a  thing  had  she  known  of  it,  he  informed 

20  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  173,  November,  1840. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS    43 

her  in  detail  concerning  their  mother's  letter  which  had 
caused  him  endless  trouble. 

While  Madame  Surville  was  a  great  stimulus  to  Bal- 
zac early  in  his  literary  career,  she  in  turn  received 
the  deepest  sympathy  from  him  in  her  financial  struggle, 
and,  while  he  was  so  happy  and  was  living  in  such  luxury 
in  Russia,  he  only  regretted  that  he  could  not  assist  her, 
for  he  had  enjoyed  hospitality  in  her  home. 

Madame  Surville  had  at  least  one  of  her  mother's 
traits  —  that  of  continually  harassing  Balzac  by  trying 
to  marry  him  to  some  rich  woman;  once  she  had  even 
chosen  for  him  the  goddaughter  of  Louis-Philippe.  But 
the  most  serious  breach  of  relations  between  the  two 
resulted  from  her  failure  to  approve  of  Balzac's  adoration 
of  Madame  Hanska.  While  admitting  the  extreme 
beauty  of  the  celebrated  Daffinger  portrait,  she  was  jeal- 
ous of  his  Prcdilecta.  When  she  saw  the  bound  proofs 
of  La  Femmc  supcricure  which  he  had  intended  for  Ma- 
dame Hanska,  she  felt  that  she  was  being  neglected.  In 
the  end,  he  robbed  his  Chatelaine  to  the  profit  of  his  cara 
sorella.  But  when  she  became  impatient  at  Balzac's 
prolonged  stay  at  Wierzchownia,  he  resented  it,  explain- 
ing that  marriage  is  like  cream  —  a  change  of  atmosphere 
would  spoil  it, —  that  bad  marriages  could  be  made  with 
the  utmost  ease,  but  good  ones  required  infinite  precau- 
tion and  scrupulous  attention.  He  tried  to  make  her  see 
the  advantage  of  this  marriage,  writing  her: 

"  Consider,  dear  Laura,  none  of  us  are  as  yet,  so  to 
speak,  arrived;  if,  instead  of  being  obliged  to  work  in 
order  to  live,  I  had  become  the  husband  of  one  of  the 


44    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

cleverest,  the  best-born,  and  best-connected  of  women,  who 
is  also  possessed  of  a  solid  though  circumscribed  fortune, 
in  spite  of  the  wish  of  the  lady  to  live  retired,  to  have  no 
intercourse  even  with  the  family,  I  should  still  be  in  a  po- 
sition to  be  much  better  able  to  be  of  use  to  you  all.  I 
have  the  certainty  of  the  warm  kindness  and  lively  inter- 
est which  Madame  Hanska  takes  in  the  dear  children. 
Thus  it  is  more  than  a  duty  in  my  mother,  and  all  belong- 
ing to  me,  to  do  nothing  to  hinder  me  from  the  happy  ac- 
complishment of  a  union  which  before  all  is  my  happiness. 
Again,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  this  lady  is  illustrious, 
not  only  on  account  of  her  high  descent,  but  for  her  great 
reputation  for  wit,  beauty,  and  fortune  (for  she  is  credited 
with  all  the  millions  of  her  daughter)  ;  she  is  constantly 
receiving  proposals  of  marriage  from  men  of  the  highest 
rank  and  position.  But  she  is  something  far  better  than 
rich  and  noble ;  she  is  exquisitely  good,  with  the  sweetness 
of  an  angel,  and  of  an  easy  compatibility  in  daily  life 
which  every  day  surprises  me  more  and  more;  she  is, 
moreover,  thoroughly  pious.  Seeing  all  these  great  ad- 
vantages, the  world  treats  my  hopes  with  something  of 
mocking  incredulity,  and  my  prospects  of  success  are  de- 
nied and  derided  on  all  sides.  If  we  were  all  to  live  .  .  . 
under  the  same  roof,  I  could  conceive  the  difficulties  raised 
by  my  mother  about  her  dignity ;  but  to  keep  on  the  terms 
which  are  due  to  a  lady  who  brings  with  her  (fortune 
apart)  most  precious  social  advantages,  I  think  you  need 
only  confine  yourself  to  giving  her  the  impression  that 
my  relations  are  kind  and  affectionate  amongst  them- 
selves, and  kindly  affectionate  towards  the  man  she  loves. 
It  is  the  only  way  to  excite  her  interest  and  to  preserve 
her  influence,  which  will  be  enormous.  You  may  all 
of  you,  in  a  great  fit  of  independence,  say  you  have  no 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     45 

need  of  any  one,  that  you  intend  to  succeed  by  your  own 
exertions.  But,  between  ourselves,  the  events  of  the  last 
few  years  must  have  proved  to  you  that  nothing  can  be 
done  without  the  help  of  others ;  and  the  social  forces 
that  we  can  least  afford  to  dispense  with  are  those  of  our 
own  family.  Come,  Laura,  it  is  something  to  be  able,  in 
Paris,  to  open  one's  salon  and  to  assemble  all  the  elite 
of  society,  presided  over  by  a  woman  who  is  refined, 
polished,  imposing  as  a  queen,  of  illustrious  descent,  allied 
to  the  noblest  families,  witty,  well-informed,  and  beauti- 
ful ;  there  is  here  a  power  of  social  domination.  To  enter 
into  any  struggle  whatever  with  a  woman  in  whom  so 
much  influence  centers  is  —  I  tell  you  this  in  confidence  — 
an  act  of  insanity.  Let  there  be  neither  servility,  nor 
sullen  pride,  nor  susceptibility,  nor  too  much  compliance ; 
nothing  but  good  natural  affection.  This  is  the  line  of 
conduct  prescribed  by  good  sense  towards  such  a 
woman."  21 

One  can  see  how  Madame  Surville  would  resent 
such  a  letter,  especially  when  she  might  have  arranged 
another  marriage,  advantageous  and  sensible,  for  him. 
But  poor  Balzac,  knowing  her  interest  in  his  happiness, 
writes  to  her  a  joyful  letter  the  day  after  his  marriage : 
"  As  to  Madame  de  Balzac,  what  more  can  I  say  about 
her?  I  may  be  envied  for  having  won  her:  with  the 
exception  of  her  daughter,  there  is  no  woman  in  this  land 
who  can  compare  with  her.  She  is  indeed  the  diamond 
of  Poland,  the  gem  of  this  illustrious  house  of  Rzewu- 
ski."  22  After  explaining  to  her  that  this  was  a  marriage 
of  pure  affection,  as  his  wife  had  given  her  fortune  to  her 

21  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  357-360,  March  22,  1849. 

22  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  393,  March  15,  1850. 


46     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

children  and  wished  to  live  only  for  them  and  for  him, 
Balzac  tells  his  sister  that  he  hoped  to  present  Madame 
Honore  de  Balzac  to  her  soon,  signing  the  letter,  "  Your 
brother  Honore  at  the  summit  of  happiness." 

A  great  attraction  for  Balzac  in  the  home  of  Madame 
Surville  were  his  two  nieces,  Sophie  and  Valentine, 
to  whom  he  was  devoted,  and  with  whom  he  frequently 
spent  his  evenings.  The  story  is  told  that  one  evening 
on  entering  his  sister's  home,  he  asked  for  paper  and 
pencil,  which  were  given  him.  After  spending  about  an 
hour,  not  in  making  notes,  as  one  might  imagine,  but  in 
writing  columns  of  figures  and  adding  them,  he  discov- 
ered that  he  owed  fifty-nine  thousand  francs,  and  ex- 
claimed that  his  only  recourse  was  to  blow  his  brains  out, 
or  throw  himself  into  the  Seine!  When  questioned  by 
his  niece  Sophie  in  tears  as  to  whether  he  would  not  finish 
the  novel  he  had  begun  for  her,  he  declared  that  he  was 
wrong  in  becoming  so  discouraged,  to  work  for  her 
would  be  a  pleasure;  he  would  no  longer  be  depressed, 
but  would  finish  her  book,  which  would  be  a  masterpiece, 
sell  it  for  three  thousand  ecus,  pay  all  his  creditors  within 
two  years,  amass  a  dowry  for  her  and  become  a  peer  of 
France ! 23 

Balzac  had  forbidden  his  nieces  to  read  his  books, 
promising  to  write  one  especially  for  them.  The  book 
referred  to  here  is  Ursule  Mirouet  which  he  dedicated  to 
Sophie  as  follows : 

"  To  Mademoiselle  Sophie  Surville. 

"  It  is  a  real  pleasure,  my  dear  niece,  to  dedicate  to  you  a 

23  Eugene  de  Mirecourt,  Les  Contemporains,  Balzac,  pp.  51-56. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     47 

book  of  which  the  subject  and  the  details  have  gained  the 
approbation  —  so  difficult  to  secure  —  of  a  young  girl  to 
whom  the  world  is  yet  unknown,  and  who  will  make  no 
compromise  with  the  high  principles  derived  from  a  pious 
education.  You  young  girls  are  a  public  to  be  dreaded; 
you  ought  never  to  be  permitted  to  read  any  books  less 
pure  than  your  own  pure  souls,  and  you  are  forbidden 
certain  books,  just  as  you  are  not  allowed  to  see  society 
as  it  really  is.  Is  it  not  enough,  then  to  make  a  writer 
proud,  to  know  that  he  has  satisfied  you?  Heaven  grant 
that  affection  may  not  have  misled  you!  Who  can  say? 
The  future  only,  which  you,  I  hope,  will  see,  though  he 
may  not,  who  is  your  uncle 

"  BALZAC." 

To  Valentine  Surville  he  dedicated  La  Paix  du  Menage. 

The  novelist  was  interested  in  helping  his  sister  find 
suitable  husbands  for  her  daughters.  He  and  Sophie 
had  a  wager  as  to  which  —  she  or  he  —  would  marry 
first ;  so  when  Balzac  finally  reached  his  own  long-sought 
goal,  he  did  not  forget  to  remind  his  niece  that  she  owed 
him  a  wedding  gift. 

Sophie  became  an  accomplished  musician,  having  for 
her  master  Ambroise  Thomas.  Balzac  spoke  very  lov- 
ingly of  Valentine  during  her  early  childhood;  but  she 
was  so  attractive  that  he  feared  she  would  be  spoiled. 
And  spoiled  she  was,  or  perhaps  naturally  inclined  to  in- 
dolence, for  he  wrote  her  a  few  years  later : 

"  I  should  be  very  glad  to  learn  that  Valentine  studies 
as  much  as  the  young  Countess,  who,  besides  all  her  other 
studies,  practices  daily  at  her  piano.  The  success  of  this 
education  is  owing  to  hard  work,  which  Miss  Valentine 
shuns  a  little  too  much.  Now,  I  say  to  my  dear  niece 


48     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

that  to  do  nothing  except  what  we  feel  inclined  to  do  is 
the  origin  of  all  deterioration,  especially  in  women.  Rules 
obeyed  and  duties  fulfilled  have  been  the  law  of  the  young 
Countess  from  childhood,  although  she  is  an  only  child 
and  a  rich  heiress.  .  .  .  Thus  I  beg  Valentine  not  to  ex- 
hibit a  Creole  nonchalance;  but  to  listen  to  the  advice  of 
her  sister,  to  impose  tasks  on  herself,  and  to  do  work  of 
various  sorts,  without  neglecting  the  ordinary  and  daily 
cares  of  the  household,  and,  above  all,  constantly  to  with- 
stand the  inclination  we  all  have,  more  or  less,  to  give  our- 
selves up  to  what  we  find  pleasant;  it  is  by  this  yielding 
to  inclination  that  we  deteriorate  and  fall  into  misfor- 
tune." 2* 

While  Balzac  was  living  in  Wierzchownia,  he  urged 
his  nieces  to  write  to  him  oftener,  as  the  young  Countess 
Anna  took  the  greatest  interest  in  their  chatter;  they  were 
like  two  nightingales  coming  by  post  to  enchant  the 
Ukrainian  solitude.  He  had  portrayed  them  so  well  that 
all  took  an  interest  in  them,  and  their  letters  were  called 
for  first  whenever  he  received  a  package  from  Paris. 
He  requested  them  to  send  him  certain  favorite  recipes, 
and  planned  to  have  Sophie  play  with  the  young  countess. 

Sophie  seemed  to  have  some  of  the  traits  of  her  grand- 
mother; for  the  novelist  wrote  his  sister: 

"  Sophie  has  traced  out  a  catechism  of  what  she  con- 
siders my  duties  towards  you,  just  as  last  year  my  mother 
wrote  me  a  catechism  of  my  duties  towards  my  nieces; 
it  is  a  sort  of  cholera  peculiar  to  our  family,  to  lecture 
uncles  both  at  home  and  abroad.  I  make  fun  of  it,  but 
all  these  little  things  are  remarked  upon,  which  I  do  not 

24  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  339,  341,  November,  1848. 
Letter  to  Miles.  Sophie  and  Valentine  Surville. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     49 

like;  then  these  blank  pages  make  me  furious.  I  forgive 
Sophie  on  account  of  the  motif,  which  is  you,  and  for  all 
she  and  Valentine  have  done  for  your  fete.  Ah!  if  my 
wishes  are  ever  realized,  how  I  shall  enjoy  introducing 
my  dear  nieces,  both  so  unspoiled  by  the  devil !  I  have 
sung  their  praises  here.  I  have  said  Sophie  is  a  great 
musician:  I  add,  Valentine  is  a  man  of  letters,  and  she  is 
tired  with  writing  three  pages."  25 

If  certain  letters  received  by  Balzac  from  his  family 
irritated  him,  he  perhaps  unconsciously  was  making  his 
sister  jealous  by  continually  extolling  the  young  Countess 
Mniszech : 

"  She  has  a  genius,  as  well  as  a  love,  for  music ;  if  she 
had  not  been  an  heiress,  she  would  have  been  a  great 
artiste.  If  she  comes  to  Paris  in  eighteen  months  or  two 
years,  she  will  take  lessons  in  thorough  bass  and  composi- 
tion. It  is  all  she  needs  as  regards  music.  She  has 
(without  exaggeration)  hands  the  size  of  a  child  of  eight 
years  old.  These  minute,  supple,  white  hands,  three  of 
which  I  could  hold  in  mine,  have  an  iron  power  of  ringer, 
in  due  proportion,  like  that  of  Liszt.  The  keys,  not  the 
fingers,  bend;  she  can  compass  ten  keys  by  the  span  and 
elasticity  of  her  ringers ;  this  phenomenon  must  be  seen 
to  be  believed.  Music,  her  mother,  and  her  husband : 
these  three  words  sum  up  her  character.  She  is  the 
Fenella  of  the  fireside;  the  will-o'-wisp  of  our  souls;  our 
gaiety;  the  life  of  the  house.  When  she  is  not  here,  the 
very  walls  are  conscious  of  her  absence  —  so  much  does 
she  brighten  them  by  her  presence.  She  has  never  known 
misfortune;  she  knows  nothing  of  annoyance;  she  is  the 
idol  of  all  who  surround  her,  and  she  has  the  sensibility 

25  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  371,  372,  October  20,  1849. 


50    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

and  goodness  of  an  angel :  in  one  word,  she  unites  quali- 
ties which  moralists  consider  incompatible ;  it  is,  however, 
only  a  self-evident  fact  to  all  who  know  her.  She  is  evi- 
dently well  informed,  without  pedantry;  she  has  a  de- 
lightful naivete;  and  though  long  since  married,  she  has 
still  the  gaiety  of  a  child,  loving  laughter  like  a  little  girl, 
which  does  not  prevent  her  from  possessing  a  religious 
enthusiasm  for  great  objects.  Physically,  she  has  a  grace 
even  more  beautiful  than  beauty,  which  triumphs  over  a 
complexion  still  somewhat  brown  (she  is  hardly  six- 
teen) ; 26  a  nose  well  formed,  but  not  striking,  except  in 
the  profile;  a  charming  figure,  supple  and  svelte;  feet  and 
hands  exquisitely  formed,  and  wonderfully  small,  as  I 
have  just  mentioned.  All  these  advantages  are,  more- 
over, thrown  into  relief  by  a  proud  bearing,  full  of  race, 
by  an  air  of  distinction  and  ease  which  all  queens  have 
not,  and  which  is  now  quite  lost  in  France,  where  every- 
body wishes  to  be  equal.  This  exterior  —  this  air  of  dis- 
tinction —  this  look  of  a  grande  dame,  is  one  of  the  most 
precious  gifts  which  God  —  the  God  of  women  can  be- 
stow. The  Countess  Georges  speaks  four  languages  as 
if  she  were  a  native  of  each  of  the  countries  whose  tongue 
she  knows  so  thoroughly.  She  has  a  keenness  of  observa- 
tion which  astonishes  me;  nothing  escapes  her.  She  is 
besides  extremely  prudent ;  and  entirely  to  be  relied  on  in 
daily  intercourse.  There  are  no  words  to  describe  her, 
but  perlc  fine.  Her  husband  adores  her;  I  adore  her; 
two  cousins  on  the  point  of  old-m-aidism  adore  her  —  she 
will  always  be  adored,  as  fresh  reasons  for  loving  her 
continually  arise."  27 

26  For  the  incorrectness  of  this  statement,  see  the  chapter  on  the 
Countess  Mniszech. 

27  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  337-339,  November,  1848. 
Letter  to  Miles.  Sophie  and  Valentine  Surville. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     51 

Such  adoration  of  Madame  Hanska's  daughter  was 
enough  to  make  Madame  Surville  jealous,  especially  when 
she  was  so  despondent  over  her  financial  situation, 
but  Balzac  tried  to  cheer  her  thus :  "  You  should  be 
proud  of  your  two  children,  they  have  written  two  charm- 
ing letters,  which  have  been  much  admired  here.  Two 
such  daughters  are  the  reward  of  your  life;  you  can 
afford  to  accept  many  misfortunes."  28 

MADAME      SALLAMBIER MADAME      DE      MONTZAIGLE 

MADAME    DE    BRUGNOLLE MADAME    DELANNOY 

MADAME  DE  POMMEREUL MADAME  DE  MARGONNE 

"  Ah  we  are  fine  specimens  in  this  blessed  family  of 
ours !     What  a  pity  I  can't  put  ourselves  into  novels."  29 

Another  member  of  Balzac's  family  circle  was  his  af- 
fectionate and  amiable  grandmother,  whom  he  loved  from 

28  Ibid.,  v.  2,  p.  381,  November,  1849. 

Sophie  Surville,  the  older  daughter,  whose  matrimonial  possibili- 
ties were  so  much  discussed,  was  finally  unhappily  married  to  M. 
Mallet.  She  was  a  good  harpist,  and  taught  the  harp.  She  died 
without  issue.  Valentine  was  married,  1859,  to  M.  Louis  Duhamel, 
a  lawyer.  She  had  a  good  voice  for  singing,  and  literary  talent ;  she 
took  charge  of  having  a  part  of  Balzac's  correspondence  published. 
She  had  two  children ;  a  daughter  who  became  Mme.  Pierre  Car- 
rier-Belleuse,  wife  of  an  artist,  and  a  son,  publiciste  distingue.  Laur- 
ence de  Balzac  had  two  sons;  the  older,  Alfred  de  Montzaigle,  dissi- 
pated, a  friend  of  Musset,  died  in  1852  without  issue.  The  younger 
son,  Alfonse,  married  Mile.  Caroline  Jung;  he  died  in  1868  at  Stras- 
bourg. Of  their  three  children,  only  one,  Paul  de  Montzaigle,  lived. 
M.  Surville-Duhamel,  Mme.  Pierre  Carrter-Belleuse,  and  M.  de 
Montzaigle  are  the  only  living  relatives  of  Balzac.  Mme.  Belleuse 
and  M.  de  Montzaigle  have  each  a  little  daughter.  See  Le  Docteur 
Cabanes,  Balzac  ignore,  p.  100,  101. 

29  (Euvres  de  H.  de  Balzac,  v.  24,  p.  28,  letter  to  Madame  Surville. 


52    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

childhood.  After  her  husband's  death,  Madame  Sallam- 
bier  lived  with  her  daughter,  Madame  de  Balzac.  She 
seems  to  have  had  a  kind  disposition,  and  having  the 
requisite  means,  she  could  indulge  Honore  in  various 
ways.  When  he  was  brought  back  from  college  in 
wretched  health,  she  condemned  the  schools  for  their 
neglect. 

While  studying  at  home,  Balzac  frequently  spent  his 
evenings  playing  whist  or  Boston  with  her.  Through 
voluntary  inattention  or  foolish  plays,  she  allowed  him 
to  win  money  which  he  used  to  buy  books.  Throughout 
his  life  he  loved  these  games  in  memory  of  her.  She 
encouraged  him  in  his  writings,  and  when  L'Heritiere  de 
Birague  was  sold  for  eight  hundred  francs,  he  was  sure 
of  the  sale  of  the  first  copy,  for  she  had  promised  to  buy 
it.  He  was  devoted  to  her,  and  when  he  had  neglected 
writing  to  her  for  some  time,  he  atoned  by  sending  to  her 
a  most  affectionate  letter. 

After  the  marriage  of  his  sister  Laure,  Balzac  kept  her 
informed  in  detail  concerning  the  family  life.  Of  his 
grandmother,  we  find  the  following : 

"  Grandmamma  begs  me  to  say  all  the  pretty  things  she 
would  write  if  that  unfortunate  malady  did  not  rob  her  of 
all  her  faculties!  Nevertheless  she  begins  to  think  her 
head  is  better,  and  if  the  spring  comes  there  is  every  rea- 
son to  hope  she  will  recover  her  wonted  gaiety.  .  .  . 
Grandmamma  is  suffering  from  a  nervous  attack;  .  .  . 
Papa  says  that  grandmamma  is  a  clever  actress  who  knows 
the  value  of  a  walk,  of  a  glance,  and  how  to  fall  gracefully 
into  an  easy  chair."  30 
80  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  pp.  163,  167,  178,  1822. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS    53 

If  Madame  Sallambier  with  her  nervous  attacks  an- 
noyed Balzac  in  his  youth,  he  spoke  beautifully  of  her 
after  her  death,  and  referred  to  her  as  his  "  grandmother 
who  loved  him,"  or  his  "  most  excellent  grandmother." 
In  speaking  of  his  grief  over  the  death  of  Madame  de 
Berny,  he  said  that  never,  since  the  death  of  his  grand- 
mother, had  he  so  deeply  sounded  the  gulf  of  separation. 
One  of  his  characteristics  he  inherited  from  his  grand- 
mother, that  of  keeping  trivial  things  which  had  belonged 
to  those  he  loved. 

Not  a  great  deal  is  said  of  Balzac's  younger  sister, 
Laurentia,  but  he  has  left  this  pen  picture  of  her: 

"  On  the  whole  you  know  that  Laurentia  is  as  beautiful 
as  a  picture  —  that  she  has  the  prettiest  of  arms  and 
hands,  that  her  complexion  is  pale  and  lovely.  In  con- 
versation people  give  her  credit  for  plenty  of  sense,  and 
find  that  it  is  all  a  natural  sense,  which  is  not  yet  de- 
veloped. She  has  beautiful  eyes,  and  though  pale  many 
men  admire  that.  .  .  .  You  are  not  aware  that  Laurentia 

has  taken  a  violent  fancy  to  Augustus  de  L .     Say 

nothing  that  might  lead  her  to  suspect  I  have  betrayed  the 
secret,  but  I  have  all  the  trouble  in  the  world  to  get  it  into 
her  head  that  authors  are  the  most  villainous  of  matches 
(in  respect  of  fortune,  be  it  understood).  Really  Lauren- 
tia is  quite  romantic.  How  she  would  hate  me  if  she  knew 
with  what  irreverence  I  allude  to  her  tender  attach- 
ment." 31 

This  attachment  was  evidently  not  very  serious,  for 
not  long  afterward  Laurentia  was  married  to  Monsieur 
31  Ibid.,  pp.  146,  167,  1821,  1822.    Letter  to  Madame  Surville. 


54    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

de  Montzaigle.  His  family  had  a  title  and  stood  well 
in  the  town,  so  Laurentia's  parents  were  pleased  with  the 
marriage.  This  was  a  great  event  in  the  family,  and 
Balzac  describes  to  his  married  sister,  Laure,  the  accom- 
panying excitement  in  the  home : 

*'  Grandmamma  is  in  a  great  state  of  delight ;  papa  is 
quite  satisfied, —  so  am  I,  —  so  are  you.  As  to  mamma, 
recall  the  last  days  of  your  own  demoiscllerie,  and  you 
will  have  some  idea  of  what  Laurentia  and  I  have  to  en- 
dure. Nature  surrounds  all  roses  with  thorns:  mamma 
follows  nature." 32 

The  happiness  of  poor  Laurentia  was  of  short  dura- 
tion. She  died  five  years  after  her  marriage,  leaving 
two  children.  Her  husband  did  not  prove  to  be  what 
the  Balzac  family  had  expected,  and  her  children  were 
left  destitute  for  Madame  de  Balzac  to  care  for.  Balzac 
always  spoke  tenderly  of  her,  and  once  in  despair  he  ex- 
claimed that  at  times  he  envied  his  poor  sister  Laurentia, 
who  had  been  lying  for  many  years  in  her  coffin. 

After  Balzac's  return  from  St.  Petersburg,  his  letters 
were  filled  with  allusions  to  Madame  de  Brugnolle,  his 
housekeeper  and  financial  counselor.  He  brought  pres- 
ents to  various  friends,  and  her  he  presented  with  a  muff. 
Besides  being  very  practical,  economical  and  kind,  she 
was  a  good  manager  for  Balzac  financially  and  strict  with 
him  regarding  his  diet ;  the  bonne  montagnarde  did  almost 

82  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  I,  p.  146,  1821.  It  was  from 
the  father  of  Laurentia's  husband  that  M.  and  Madame  de  Berny 
bought  their  home  in  Villeparisis. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     55 

everything  possible,  from  running  his  errands  to  making 
his  home  happy.  He  sent  business  letters  under  her 
name,  and  her  fidelity  and  devotion  are  seen  in  her  deny- 
ing herself  clothes  in  order  to  buy  household  necessities 
for  him. 

She  served  the  novelist  as  a  spy  when  he  and  Gavault 
disagreed.  When  Lirette  visited  Paris,  she  treated  her 
very  kindly  and  gave  up  her  own  room  in  order  to  ar- 
range comfortable  quarters  for  her.  She  had  some  rela- 
tives who  had  entered  a  convent,  and  she  talked  of  ending 
her  days  in  one,  but  Balzac  begged  her  to  keep  house 
for  him.  He  felt  that  she  was  born  for  that !  Madame 
de  Brugnolle  was  of  much  help  to  him  in  looking  after 
Lirette's  financial  affairs,  visiting  her  in  the  convent,  and 
carrying  messages  to  her  from  him.  Many  times  she 
comforted  him  by  promising  to  look  out  for  his  family, 
even  consenting  to  go  to  Wierzchownia,  if  necessary, 
as  Lirette's  visit  had  helped  her  to  realize  as  never  before 
the  angelic  sweetness  of  his  Lonp. 

In  return  for  this  devotion,  he  took  her  with  him  to 
Frankfort  and  to  Bury  to  visit  Madame  de  Bocarme. 
He  celebrated  the  birthday  of  the  montagnarde  in  1844, 
giving  her  some  very  attractive  presents.  Her  economy 
and  devotion  seemed  to  increase  with  time,  and  enabled 
him  to  travel  without  any  worry  about  his  home.  What 
must  not  have  been  the  trial  to  him  when  this  happy 
household  came  to  be  broken  up  later  by  her  marriage !  33 

Madame  Delannoy  was  an  old  family  friend  of  the 
Balzacs.     She  aided  Balzac  in  his  financial  troubles  as 
33  For  details,  see  M.  F.  Sandars,  H.  de  Balzac,  p.  230. 


early  in  his  career  as  1826,  and  though  he  remained  in- 
debted to  her  for  more  than  twenty  years,  he  tried  to  re- 
pay her  and  was  ever  grateful  to  her,  calling  her  his  sec- 
ond mother.  The  following,  written  late  in  his  career, 
reveals  his  general  attitude  towards  her : 

"  I  have  just  written  a  long  letter  to  Madame  Delannoy, 
with  whom  I  have  settled  my  business ;  but  this  still  leaves 
me  with  obligations  of  conscientiousness  towards  her, 
which  my  first  book  will  acquit.  No  one  could  have  be- 
-  haved  more  like  a  mother,  or  been  more  adorable  than 
she  has  been  throughout  all  this  business.  She  has  been 
a  mother,  I  will  be  a  son."  34 

But  if  she  remained  one  of  his  principal  creditors,  she 
received  many  literary  proofs  of  his  appreciation.  As 
early  as  1831  he  dedicated  to  her  a  volume  of  his  Romans 
et  Conies  philosophiques,  but  later  he  changed  the  title 
to  fttudes  philosophiques,  and  dedicated  to  her  La  Re- 
cherche de  L'Absolu: 

"  To  Madame  Josephine  Delannoy,  nee  Doumerg. 

"  Madame,  may  God  grant  that  this  book  have  a  longer 
life  than  mine!  The  gratitude  which  I  have  vowed  to 
you,  and  which  I  hope  will  equal  your  almost  maternal 
affection  for  me,  would  last  beyond  the  limits  prescribed 
for  human  feeling.  This  sublime  privilege  of  prolonging 
the  life  in  our  hearts  by  the  life  of  our  works  would  be,  if 
there  were  ever  a  certainty  in  this  respect,  a  recompense 
for  all  the  labor  it  costs  those  whose  ambition  is  such.  Yet 
again  I  say :  May  God  grant  it ! 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

84  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  372,  October  20,  1849. 
Letter  to  Madame  Surville. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS    57 

Balzac  once  thought  of  buying  from  Madame  Delannoy 
a  house  that  was  left  her  by  her  friend,  M.  Ferraud,  but 
which  she  could  not  keep.  He  felt  that  this  would  be 
advantageous  to  them  both,  but  the  plan  was  never  carried 
out.  Besides  their  financial  and  literary  relations,  their 
social  relations  were  most  cordial.  He  speaks  of  ac- 
companying her  and  her  daughter  to  the  Italian  opera 
twice  during  the  absence  of  Madame  Visconti. 

In  1842,  Balzac  dedicated  La  Maison-du-Chat-qui- 
pelote  to  Mademoiselle  Marie  de  Montheau,  the  daughter 
of  Camille  Delannoy,  a  friend  of  his  sister,  and  the  grand- 
daughter of  Madame  Delannoy. 

Another  friend  of  Balzac's  family  was  Madame  de 
Pommereul.  In  the  fall  of  1828  after  his  serious  finan- 
cial loss,  Balzac  went  to  visit  Baron  and  Madame  de 
Pommereul  in  Brittany,  where  he  obtained  the  material 
for  Les  Chouans,  and  became  familiar  with  the  chateau 
de  Fougere.  To  please  Madame  de  Pommereul,  Balzac 
changed  the  name  of  his  book  from  Le  Gars  to  Les 
Chouans,  after  temporarily  calling  it  Le  Dernier  Chouan. 

She  has  given  a  beautiful  pen  portrait  of  the  youthful 
Balzac  in  which  she  describes  minutely  his  appearance, 
noting  his  beautiful  hands,  his  intelligent  forehead  and 
his  expressive  golden  brown  eyes.  There  was  something 
in  his  manner  of  speaking,  in  his  gestures,  in  his  general 
appearance,  so  much  goodness,  confidence,  naivete  and 
frankness  that  it  was  impossible  to  know  him  without 
loving  him,  and  his  exuberant  good  nature  was  infec- 
tious. In  spite  of  his  misfortunes,  he  had  not  been  in 
their  company  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  they  had  not 


58     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

even  shown  him  his  room,  before  he  had  brought  the 
general  and  herself  to  tears  with  laughter. 

"  On  some  evenings  he  remained  in  the  drawing-room  in 
company  with  his  hosts,  and  entered  into  controversies 
with  Madame  de  Pommereul,  who,  being  very  pious  her- 
self, tried  to  persuade  him  to  make  a  practice  of  religion ; 
while  Balzac,  in  return,  when  the  discussion  was  exhausted, 
endeavored  to  teach  her  the  rules  of  backgammon.  But 
the  one  remained  unconverted  and  the  other  never  mas- 
tered the  course  of  the  noble  game.  Occasionally  he 
helped  to  pass  the  time  by  inventing  stories,  which  he 
told  with  all  the  vividness  of  which  he  was  master."  35 

A  few  months  after  this  prolonged  visit,  Balzac  wrote 
to  General  de  Pommereul,  expressing  his  deep  apprecia- 
tion of  their  hospitality,  and  in  speaking  of  the  book 
which  he  had  just  written,  hoped  that  Madame  de  Pom- 
mereul would  laugh  at  some  details  about  the  butter,  the 
weddings,  the  stiles  and  the  difficulties  of  going  to  the  ball, 
etc.,  which  he  had  inserted  in  his  work, —  if  she  could 
read  it  without  falling  asleep. 

Balzac  made  perhaps  his  most  prolonged  visits  in  the 
home  of  another  old  family  friend,  M.  de  Margonne,  who 
was  living  with  his  wife  at  Sache.  He  describes  his  life 
there  thus : 

"Sache  is  the  remains  of  a  castle  on  the  Indre,  in  one 
of  the  most  delicious  valleys  of  Touraine.  The  proprietor, 
a  man  of  fifty-five,  used  to  dandle  me  on  his  knee.  He 
has  a  pious  and  intolerant  wife,  rather  deformed  and  not 
35  A.  Keim  and  L.  Lumet,  Honore  de  Balzac,  pp.  97,  98. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     59 

clever.  I  go  there  for  him ;  and  besides,  I  am  free  there. 
They  accept  me  throughout  the  region  as  a  child;  I  have 
no  value  whatever,  and  I  am  happy  to  be  there,  like  a 
monk  in  a  monastery.  I  always  go  there  to  meditate 
serious  works.  The  sky  there  is  so  blue,  the  oaks  so 
beautiful,  the  calm  so  vast !  .  .  .  Sache  is  six  leagues  from 
Tours.  But  not  a  woman,  not  a  conversation  possible !  "  36 

Not  only  did  Balzac  visit  them  when  he  wished  to 
compose  a  serious  work,  but  he  often  went  there  to  re- 
cuperate from  overwork.  He  probably  did  not  enjoy 
their  company,  as  he  spoke  of  "  having  "  to  dine  with 
them  and  he  is  perhaps  even  chargeable  with  ingratitude 
when  he  speaks  of  their  parsimony. 

Like  his  own  family,  these  old  people  were  interested 
in  seeing  him  married  to  a  rich  lady,  but  to  no  avail.  In 
spite  of  his  unkind  remarks  about  them,  Balzac  appre- 
ciated their  hospitality,  and  expressed  it  by  dedicating  to 
M.  de  Margonne  Une  tenebreuse  Affaire. 

MADAME   CARRAUD MADAME   NIVET 

"  You  are  my  public,  you  and  a  few  other  chosen  souls, 
whom  I  wish  to  please;  but  yourself  especially,  whom  I 
am  proud  to  know,  you  whom  I  have  never  seen  or 
listened  to  without  gaining  some  benefit,  you  who  have  the 
courage  to  aid  me  in  tearing  up  the  evil  weeds  from  my 
field,  you  who  encourage  me  to  perfect  myself,  you  who 
resemble  so  much  that  angel  to  whom  I  owe  everything; 
in  short,  you  who  are  so  good  towards  my  ill-doings 
(' mauvaisetes').  I  alone  know  how  quickly  I  turn  to 
you.  I  have  recourse  to  your  encouragements,  when  some 

86  Lettrcs  a  I'&trangcre,  v.  i,  p.  21,  March,  1833. 


6o     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

arrow  has  wounded  me;  it  is  the  wood-pigeon  regaining 
its  nest.  I  bear  you  an  affection  which  resembles  no  other, 
and  which  can  have  no  rival,  because  it  is  alone  of  its  kind. 
It  is  so  bright  and  pleasant  near  you !  From  afar,  I  can 
tell  you,  without  fear  of  being  put  to  silence,  all  I  think 
about  your  mind,  about  your  life.  No  one  can  wish  more 
earnestly  that  the  road  be  smooth  for  you.  I  should  like 
to  send  you  all  the  flowers  you  love,  as  I  often  send  above 
your  head  the  most  ardent  prayers  for  your  happiness."  37 

Balzac's  friendship  with  Madame  Zulma  Carrand  was 
not  only  of  the  purest  and  most  beautiful  nature,  but  it 
lasted  longer  than  his  friendship  with  any  other  woman, 
terminating  only  with  his  death.  It  was  even  more  con- 
stant than  that  with  his  sister  Laure,  which  was  broken 
at  times.  Though  Madame  Surville  states  that  it  be- 
gan in  1826,  the  following  passage  shows  an  earlier  date: 
"  I  embrace  you,  and  press  you  to  a  heart  devoted  to  you. 
A  friendship  as  true  and  tender  now  in  1838  as  in 
1819.  Nineteen  years!"38  The  first  letter  to  her  in 
either  edition  of  his  correspondence,  however,  is  dated 
1826. 

Madame  Carraud,  as  Zulma  Tourangin,  attended  the 
same  convent  as  Balzac's  sister  Laure.  Her  husband  was 
a  distinguished  officer  in  the  artillery  and  a  man  of  learn- 
ing, but  absolutely  lacking  in  ambition,  preferring  to  di- 
rect the  instruction  of  Saint-Cyr  rather  than  to  risk 
the  chances  of  advancement  presented  in  active  service. 

87  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  379,  October  5,  1833.  Let- 
ter to  Madame  Carraud. 

38  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  73,  January  i,  1838.  Let- 
ter to  Madame  Carraud. 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     61 

He  became  inspector  of  the  gunpowder  manufactory  at 
Angouleme,  and  later  retired  to  his  home  at  Frapesle, 
near  Issoudun.  Though  an  excellent  husband,  his  inac- 
tivity was  a  great  annoyance  to  his  wife.  According  to 
several  Balzacian  writers,  Madame  Carraud  became  the 
type  of  the  femmc  incomprise  for  Balzac,  but  the  present 
writer  is  inclined  to  agree  with  M.  Serval  39  when  he  calls 
this  judgment  astonishing,  since  she  was  a  woman  who 
adored  her  husband  and  sons,  was  an  author  of  some 
moral  books  for  children,  and  nothing  in  her  suggested 
either  vagueness  of  soul  or  melancholy.  Madame  Car- 
raud herself  gives  a  glimpse  of  her  married  life  in  say- 
ing to  Balzac  that  she  and  her  husband  are  not  sympa- 
thetic in  everything,  that  being  of  different  temperaments 
things  appear  differently  to  them,  but  that  she  knows 
happiness,  and  her  life  is  not  empty. 

Often  when  sick,  discouraged,  overworked  or  pursued 
by  his  creditors,  Balzac  sought  refuge  in  her  home,  and 
with  a  pure  and  disinterested  maternal  affection,  she 
calmed  him  and  inspired  him  with  courage  to  continue  the 
battle  of  life.  It  was  indeed  the  maternal  element  that 
he  needed  and  longed  for,  and  Madame  Carraud  seems  to 
have  been  a  rare  mother  who  really  understood  her  child. 
He  confided  in  her  not  only  his  financial  worries,  but  also 
his  love  affairs,  his  aspirations  in  life,  and  his  ideas  of 
woman : 

"  I  care  more  for  the  esteem  of  a  few  persons,  amongst 
whom  you  are  one  of  the  first,  both  in  friendship  and  in 
39  La  Rabouilleuse,  Les  Annales  Romantiques,  pp.  360,  361,  1912- 


62     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

high  intellect  —  one  of  the  noblest  souls  I  have  ever 
known, —  than  I  care  for  the  esteem  of  the  masses,  for 
whom  I  have,  in  truth,  a  profound  contempt.  There  are 
some  vocations  that  must  be  obeyed,  and  something  drags 
me  irresistibly  towards  glory  and  power.  It  is  not  a  happy 
life.  There  is  in  me  a  worship  of  woman,  and  a  need  of 
loving,  which  has  never  been  completely  satisfied.  De- 
spairing of  ever  being  loved  and  understood  as  I  desire, 
by  the  woman  I  have  dreamt  of  (never  having  met  her, 
except  under  one  form  —  that  of  the  heart),  I  have  thrown 
myself  into  the  tempestuous  region  of  political  passions 
and  into  the  stormy  and  parching  atmosphere  of  literary 
glory.  ...  If  ever  I  should  find  a  wife  and  a  fortune, 
I  could  resign  myself  very  easily  to  domestic  happiness; 
but  where  are  these  things  to  be  found?  Where  is  the 
family  which  would  have  faith  in  a  literary  fortune?  It 
would  drive  me  mad  to  owe  my  fortune  to  a  woman, 
unless  I  loved  her,  or  to  owe  it  to  flatteries ;  I  am  obliged, 
therefore,  to  remain  isolated.  In  the  midst  of  this  desert, 
be  assured  that  friendships  such  as  yours,  and  the  assur- 
ance of  finding  a  shelter  in  a  loving  heart,  are  the  best 
consolations  I  can  have.  ...  To  dedicate  myself  to  the 
happiness  of  a  woman  is  my  count  and  dream,  but  I  do 
not  believe  marriage  and  love  can  exist  in  poverty.  ...  I 
work  too  hard  and  I  am  too  much  worried  with  other 
things  to  be  able  to  pay  attention  to  those  sorrows  which 
sleep  and  make  their  nest  in  the  heart.  It  may  be  that 
I  shall  come  to  the  end  of  life,  without  having  realized 
the  hopes  I  entertained  from  them.  ...  As  regards  my 
soul,  I  am  profoundly  sad.  My  work  alone  keeps  me 
alive.  Will  there  never  then  be  a  woman  for  me  in  this 
world?  My  fits  of  despondency  and  bodily  weariness 
come  upon  me  more  frequently,  and  weigh  upon  me  more 
heavily ;  to  sink  under  this  crushing  load  of  fruitless  labor, 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     63 

without  having  near  me  the  gentle  caressing  presence  of 
woman,  for  whom  I  have  worked  so  much !  " 40 

Though  Balzac  and  his  mother  were  never  conge- 
nial, he  became  very  lonely  after  she  left  him  in  1832. 
In  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  had  a  break  with  the 
Duchesse  de  Castries,  so  he  began  the  new  year  by  sum- 
ming up  his  trials  and  pouring  forth  his  longings  to  Ma- 
dame Carraud  as  he  could  do  to  no  other  woman,  not 
even  to  his  Dilecta.  In  response  to  this  despondent 
epistle,  she  showed  her  broad  sympathetic  friendship  by 
writing  him  a  beautiful  and  comforting  letter,  in  which 
she  regretted  not  being  able  to  live  in  Paris  with  him,  so 
as  to  see  him  daily  and  give  him  the  desired  affection. 

Not  only  through  the  hospitality  of  her  home,  but  by 
sending  various  gifts,  she  ministered  to  Balzac's  needs 
or  caprices.  To  make  his  study  more  attractive,  she  in- 
dulged his  craving  for  elegance  and  grace  by  surprising 
him  with  the  present  of  a  carpet  and  a  lovely  tea  service. 
In  thanking  her  for  her  thoughtfulness,  he  informed  her 
that  she  had  inspired  some  of  the  pages  in  the  Medicin  de 
Campagnc. 

Besides  being  so  intimate  a  friend  of  Madame  Carraud, 
the  novelist  was  also  a  friend  of  M.  Carraud,  whom  he 
called  "  Commandant  Piston,"  and  discussed  his  business 
plans  with  him  before  going  to  Corsica  and  Sardinia  to 
investigate  the  silver  mines.  M.  Carraud  had  a  fine 
scientific  mind;  he  approved  of  Balzac's  scheme,  and 
thought  of  going  with  him;  his  wife  was  astonished  on 
hearing  this,  since  he  never  left  the  house  even  to  look 

40  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  pp.  256-258.  June  i,  1832,  pp. 
35 ! -356,  May  26,  1833.  Letters  to  Madame  Carraud. 


after  his  own  estate.     However,  his  natural  habit  as- 
serted itself  and  he  gave  up  the  project. 

Madame  Carraud  was  much  interested  in  politics,  and 
many  of  Balzac's  political  ideas  are  set  forth  in  his  letters 
to  her  when  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  post  of  deputy. 
She  reproached  him  for  a  mobility  of  ideas,  an  incon- 
stancy of  resolution,  and  feared  that  the  influence  of  the 
Duchesse  de  Castries  had  not  been  good  for  him.  To 
this  last  accusation,  he  replied  that  she  was  unjust,  and 
that  he  would  never  be  sold  to  a  party  for  a  woman. 

Another  tie  which  united  Balzac  to  Madame  Carraud 
was  her  sympathy  for  his  devotion  to  Madame  de  Berny, 
of  whom  she  was  not  jealous.  Both  women  were  devoted 
to  him,  and  were  friendly  towards  each  other,  so  much 
so  that  in  December,  1833,  she  invited  Balzac  to  bring 
Madame  de  Berny  with  him  to  spend  several  days  in  her 
home  at  Frapesle.  This  he  especially  appreciated,  since 
neither  his  mother  nor  his  sister  approved  of  his  relations 
with  his  Dilecta. 

Madame  Carraud  occupied  in  Balzac's  life  a  position 
rather  between  that  of  Madame  de  Berny  and  that  of  a 
sister.  Indeed,  he  often  referred  to  her  as  a  sister,  and 
she  was  generous  minded  enough  to  ask  him  not  to  write 
to  her  when  she  learned  how  unpleasant  his  mother  and 
sister  were  in  regard  to  his  writing  to  his  friends. 

Seeing  his  devotion  to  her,  one  can  understand  why 
he  begged  her  to  spare  him  neither  counsels,  scoldings  nor 
reproaches,  for  all  were  received  kindly  from  her.  One 
can  perceive  also  the  sincerity  of  the  following  expres- 
sions of  friendship: 

"You  are  right,  friendship  is  not  found  ready  made. 


La  Duchesse  d'  Abrantes 
From  a  photo-engraving  of  a  rare  print 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     65 

Thus  every  day  mine  for  you  increases;  it  has  its  root 
both  in  the  past  and  in  the  present.  .  .  .  Though  I  do  not 
write  often,  believe  that  my  friendship  does  not  sleep; 
the  farther  we  advance  in  life,  precious  ties  like  our 
friendship  only  grow  the  closer.  ...  I  shall  never  let  a 
year  pass  over  without  coming  to  inhabit  my  room  at 
Frapesle.  I  am  sorry  for  all  your  annoyances ;  I  should 
like  to  know  you  are  already  at  home,  and  believe  me,  I 
am  not  averse  to  an  agricultural  life,  and  even  if  you  were 
in  any  sort  of  hell,  I  would  go  there  to  join  you.  .  .  . 
Dear  friend,  let  me  at  least  tell  you  now,  in  the  fulness 
of  my  heart,  that  during  this  long  and  painful  road  four 
noble  beings  have  faithfully  held  out  their  hands  to  me, 
encouraged  me,  loved  me,  and  had  compassion  on  me; 
and  you  are  one  of  them,  who  have  in  my  heart  an  in- 
alienable privilege  and  priority  over  all  other  affections; 
every  hour  of  my  life  upon  which  I  look  back  is  filled  with 
precious  memories  of  you.  .  .  .  You  will  always  have  the 
right  to  command  me,  and  all  that  is  in  me  is  yours. 
When  I  have  dreams  of  happiness,  you  always  take  part 
in  them ;  and  to  be  considered  worthy  of  your  esteem  is  to 
me  a  far  higher  prize  than  all  the  vanities  the  world  can 
bestow.  No,  you  can  give  me  no  amount  of  affection 
which  I  do  not  desire  to  return  to  you  a  thousand-fold. 
.  .  .  There  are  a  few  persons  whose  approval  I  desire, 
and  yours  is  one  of  those  I  hold  most  dear."  41 

Among  those  to  whom  Balzac  could  look  for  criticism, 
Madame  Carraud  had  the  high  intelligence  necessary  for 
such  a  role;  he  felt  that  never  was  so  wonderful  an  in- 
tellect as  hers  so  entirely  stifled,  and  that  she  would  die 

41  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  370,  August  2,  1833.  V.  2, 
p.  147,  March,  1839.  V.  i,  pp.  388,  389,  January  30,  1834.  Letters  to 
Madame  Carraud. 


66     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

in  her  corner  unknown.  (Perhaps  this  estimate  of  her 
caused  various  writers  to  think  that  Madame  Carraud 
was  Balzac's  model  for  the  femme  incomprise.)  Balzac 
not  only  had  her  serve  him  as  a  critic,  but  in  1836  he 
requested  her  to  send  him  at  once  the  names  of  various 
streets  in  Angouleme,  and  wished  the  "  Commandant "  to 
make  him  a  rough  plan  of  the  place.  This  data  he 
wanted  for  Les  deux  Poetes,  the  first  part  of  Les  Illusions 
perdues. 

Like  his  family  and  some  of  his  most  intimate  friends, 
she  too  interested  herself  in  his  future  happiness,  but 
when  she  wrote  to  him  about  marriage,  he  was  furious 
for  a  long  time.  Concerning  this  question,  Balzac  in- 
forms her  that  a  woman  of  thirty,  possessing  three  or 
four  hundred  thousand  francs,  who  could  take  a  fancy  to 
him,  would  find  him  willing  to  marry  her,  provided  she 
were  gentle,  sweet-tempered  and  good-looking,  although 
enormous  sacrifices  would  be  imposed  on  him  by  this 
course.  Several  months  later,  he  writes  her  that  if  she 
can  find  a  young  girl  twenty-two  years  of  age,  worth  two 
hundred  thousand  francs  or  even  one  hundred  thousand, 
she  must  think  of  him,  provided  the  dowry  can  be  ap- 
plied to  his  business. 

If  the  Vicomte  de  Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul  is  correct 
in  his  statement,  Balzac  showed  Madame  Carraud  the 
first  letter  from  l'£trangere,  in  spite  of  his  usual  extreme 
prudence  and  absolute  silence  in  such  matters.  She  an- 
swered it,  so  another  explanation  of  Balzac's  various 
handwritings  might  be  given.  At  least,  Madame  Car- 
raud's  seal  was  used. 

In  later  years,  Madame  Carraud  met  with  financial 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS    67 

reverses.  The  following  letter,  which  is  the  last  to  her 
on  record,  shows  not  only  what  she  had  been  to  Balzac 
in  his  life  struggle,  but  his  deep  appreciation  and  grati- 
tude : 

"  We  are  such  old  friends,  you  must  not  hear  from  any 
one  else  the  news  of  the  happy  ending  of  this  grand  and 
beautiful  soul-drama  which  has  been  going  on  for  sixteen 
years.  Three  days  ago  I  married  the  only  woman  I  have 
ever  loved,  whom  I  love  more  than  ever,  and  whom  I 
shall  love  to  my  life's  end.  I  believe  this  is  the  reward 
God  has  kept  in  store  for  me  through  so  many  years  of 
labor,  of  difficulties  endured  and  surmounted.  I  had 
neither  a  happy  youth  nor  a  blooming  spring ;  I  shall  have 
the  most  brilliant  summer  and  the  sweetest  of  all  autumns. 
Perhaps,  from  this  point  of  view,  my  most  happy  mar- 
riage will  seem  to  you  like  a  personal  consolation,  showing 
as  it  does  that  Providence  keeps  treasures  in  store  to  be- 
stow on  those  who  endure  to  the  end.  .  .  .  Your  letter 
has  gained  for  you  the  sincerest  of  friends  in  the  person 
of  my  wife,  from  whom  I  have  had  no  secrets  for  a  long 
time  past,  and  she  has  known  you  by  all  the  instances  of 
your  greatness  of  soul,  which  I  have  told  her,  also  by  my 
gratitude  for  your  treasures  of  hospitality  towards  me. 
I  have  described  you  so  well,  and  your  letter  has  so  com- 
pleted your  portrait,  that  now  you  are  felt  to  be  a  very 
old  friend.  Also,  with  the  same  impulse,  with  one  voice, 
and  with  one  and  the  same  feeling  in  our  hearts,  we  offer 
you  a  pleasant  little  room  in  our  house  in  Paris,  in  order 
that  you  may  come  there  absolutely  as  if  it  were  your 
own  house.  And  what  shall  I  say  to  you?  You  are  the 
only  creature  to  whom  we  could  make  this  offer,  and  you 
must  accept  it  or  you  would  deserve  to  be  unfortunate,  for 


68     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

you  must  remember  that  I  used  to  go  to  your  house,  with 
the  sacred  unscrupulousness  of  friendship,  when  you  were 
in  prosperity,  and  when  I  was  struggling  against  all  the 
winds  of  heaven,  and  overtaken  by  the  high  tides  of  the 
equinox,  drowned  in  debts.  I  have  it  now  in  my  power 
to  make  the  sweet  and  tender  reprisals  of  gratitude  .  .  . 
You  will  have  some  days'  happiness  every  three  months: 
come  more  frequently  if  you  will;  but  you  are  to  come, 
that  is  settled.  I  did  this  in  the  old  times.  At  St.  Cyr, 
at  Angouleme,  at  Frapesle,  I  renewed  my  life  for  the 
struggle;  there  I  drew  fresh  strength,  there  I  learned  to 
see  all  that  was  wanting  in  myself;  there  I  obtained  that 
for  which  I  was  thirsty.  You  will  learn  for  yourself  all 
that  you  have  unconsciously  been  to  me,  to  me  a  toiler  who 
was  misunderstood,  overwhelmed  for  so  long  under  misery, 
both  physical  and  moral.  Ah!  I  do  not  forget  your 
motherly  goodness,  your  divine  sympathy  for  those  who 
suffer.  .  .  .  Well,  then  as  soon  as  you  wish  to  come  to 
Paris,  you  will  come  without  even  letting  us  know.  You 
will  come  to  the  Rue  Fortunee  exactly  as  to  your  own 
house,  absolutely  as  I  used  to  go  to  Frapesle.  I  claim  this 
as  my  right.  I  recall  to  your  mind  what  you  said  to  me 
at  Angouleme,  when  broken  down  after  writing  Louis 
Lambert,  ill,  and  as  you  know,  fearing  lest  I  should  go 
mad.  I  spoke  of  the  neglect  to  which  these  unhappy  ones 
are  abandoned.  '  If  you  were  to  go  mad,  I  would  take 
care  of  you.'  Those  words,  your  look,  and  your  expres- 
sion have  never  been  forgotten.  All  this  is  still  living  in 
me  now,  as  in  the  month  of  July  1832.  It  is  in  virtue  of 
that  word  that  I  claim  your  promise  to-day,  for  I  have 
almost  gone  mad  with  happiness.  .  .  .  When  I  have  been 
questioned  here  about  my  friendships,  you  have  been 
named  the  first.  I  have  described  that  fireside  always 
burning,  which  is  called  Zulma,  and  you  have  two  sincere 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     69 

woman-friends  (which  is  an  achievement),  the  Countess 
Mniszech  and  my  wife."  42 

His  devotion  is  again  seen  in  the  beautiful  words  with 
which  he  dedicates  to  her  in  1838  La  Maison  Nucingen: 

"  To  Madame  Zulma  Carraud. 

"  To  whom,  madame,  but  to  you  should  I  inscribe  this 
work,  to  you  whose  lofty  and  candid  intellect  is  a  treasury 
to  your  friends,  to  you  who  are  to  me  not  only  an  entire 
public,  but  the  most  indulgent  of  sisters  ?  Will  you  deign 
to  accept  it  as  a  token  of  a  friendship  of  which  I  am 
proud?  You,  and  some  few  souls  as  noble  as  your  own, 
will  grasp  my  thought  in  reading  la  Maison  Nucingen 
appended  to  Cesar  Birotteau.  Is  there  not  a  whole  social 
contrast  between  the  two  stories  ? 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

While  hiding  from  his  creditors,  Balzac  took  refuge 
with  Madame  Carraud  at  Issoudun,  where  he  assumed 
the  name  of  Madame  Dubois  to  receive  his  mail.  Here 
he  met  some  people  whose  names  he  made  immortal  by 
describing  them  in  his  Menage  de  Gargon,  called  later 
La  Rabouilleuse.  The  priest  Badinot  introduced  him  to 
La  Cognette,  the  landlady  to  whom  the  vineyard  peasant 
sold  his  wine.  La  Cognette,  some  of  whose  relatives  are 
still  living,  plays  a  minor  role  in  the  Comedie  humaine. 
Her  real  name  was  Madame  Houssard;  her  husband, 
\vhom  Balzac  incorrectly  called  "  Pere  Cognet,"  kept  a  lit- 

42  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  394-399,  March  17,  1850. 
Balzac  is  not  exaggerating  about  the  free  use  he  made  of  her  home, 
for  besides  going  there  for  rest,  he  worked  there,  and  two  of  his 
works,  La  Grenadicre  and  La  Femme  abandonnee,  were  signed  at 
Angouleme. 


7o     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

tie  cabaret  in  the  rue  du  Bouriau.  "  Mere  Cognette," 
who  lost  her  husband  about  1835,  opened  a  little  cafe  at 
Issoudun  during  the  first  years  of  her  widowhood.  Bal- 
zac was  an  intermittent  and  impecunious  client  of  hers; 
he  would  enter  her  shop,  quaff  a  cup  of  coffee,  execrable  to 
the  palate  of  a  connoisseur  like  him,  and  "  chat  a  bit " 
with  the  good  old  woman  who  probably  unconsciously 
furnished  him  with  curious  material. 

The  coffee  drunk,  the  chat  over,  Balzac  would  strike 
his  pockets,  and  declaring  they  were  empty,  would  ex- 
claim :  "  Upon  my  word,  Mere  Cognette,  I  have  for- 
gotten my  purse,  but  the  next  time  I'll  pay  for  this  with 
the  rest!"  This  habit  gave  "Mere  Cognette"  an  ex- 
tremely mediocre  estimate  of  the  novelist,  and  she  re- 
tained a  very  bad  impression  of  him.  Upon  learning 
that  he  had,  as  she  expressed  it,  "  put  me  in  one  of  his 
books,"  she  conceived  a  violent  resentment  which  ended 
only  with  her  death  (1855).  "The  brigand,"  she  ex- 
claimed, "  he  would  have  done  better  to  pay  me  what  he 
owes  me !  " 

Another  poor  old  woman,  playing  a  far  more  important 
role  in  Balzac's  work,  lived  at  Issoudun  and  was  called 
"  La  Rabouilleuse."  For  a  long  time,  she  had  been  the 
servant  and  mistress  of  a  physician  in  the  town.  This 
wretched  creature  had  an  end  different  to  the  one  Balzac 
gave  his  Rabouilleuse,  but  just  as  miserable,  for  having 
grown  old,  sick,  despoiled  and  without  means,  she  did 
not  have  the  patience  to  wait  until  death  sought  her,  but 
ended  her  miserable  existence  by  throwing  herself  into  a 
well. 

The  doctor,  it  seems,  at  his  death  had  left  her  a  little 


RELATIVES  AND  FAMILY  FRIENDS     71 

home  and  some  money,  but  his  heirs  had  succeeded  in 
robbing  her  of  it  entirely. —  Perhaps  this  story  is  the  or- 
igin of  the  contest  of  Dr.  Rouget's  heirs  with  his  mistress. 
This  Rabouilleuse  had  a  daughter  who  inherited  her 
name,  there  being  nothing  else  to  inherit ;  she  was  a  dish 
washer  at  the  Hotel  de  la  Cloche,  where  Balzac  often  dined 
while  at  Issoudun.  Can  it  be  that  he  saw  her  there  and 
learned  from  her  the  story  of  her  mother? 

Balzac  was  acquainted  also  with  Madame  Carraud's 
sister,  Madame  Philippe  Nivet.  M.  Nivet  was  an  im- 
portant merchant  of  Limoges,  living  in  a  pretty,  historical 
home  there.  It  was  in  this  home  that  Balzac  visited  early 
in  his  literary  career,  going  there  partly  in  order  to  visit 
these  friends,  partly  to  see  Limoges,  and  partly  to  ex- 
amine the  scene  in  which  he  was  going  to  place  one  of 
his  most  beautiful  novels,  Le  Cure  de  Village.  While 
crossing  a  square  under  the  conduct  of  the  young  M. 
Nivet,  Balzac  perceived  at  the  corner  of  the  rue  de  la 
Vieille-Poste  and  the  rue  de  la  Cite  an  old  house,  on  the 
ground-floor  of  which  was  the  shop  of  a  dealer  in  old 
iron.  With  the  clearness  of  vision  peculiar  to  him,  he 
decided  that  this  would  be  a  suitable  setting  for  the  work 
of  fiction  he  had  already  outlined  in  his  mind.  It  is  here 
that  are  unfolded  the  first  scenes  of  Le  Cure  de  Village, 
while  on  one  of  the  banks  of  the  Vienne  is  committed  the 
crime  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  story.43 

43  For  further  details  of  the  sources  of  the  novels  mentioned  above, 
see  Jules  Claretie,  Balzac  a  Issoudun,  les  Annales  romantiques,  v.  5, 
pp.  66-70,  1908-1909. —  Maurice  Serval,  La  Rabouilleuse,  op.  cit.,  pp. 
356,  357,  1912-1913. —  Fray-Fournier,  Balzac  a  Limoges,  p.  8. —  Seche 
et  Bertaut,  Balzac,  pp.  96,  97. 


CHAPTER  III 
LITERARY  FRIENDS 

MADAME    GAY. MADAME    HAMELIN. MADAME   DE 

GIRARDIN. MADAME  DESBORDES-VALMORE. 

MADAME   DORVAL. 

"  O  matre  pulchra  filia  pulchrior !  " 1 

Though  Balzac  did  not  go  out  in  "  society  "  a  great 
deal,  he  was  fortunate  in  associating  with  the  best  literary 
women  of  his  time,  and  in  knowing  the  charming  Madame 
Sophie  Gay,  whose  salon  he  frequented,  and  her  three 
daughters.  Elisa,  the  eldest  of  these,  was  married  to 
Count  O'Donnel.  Delphine  was  married  June  i,  1831,  to 
£mile  de  Girardin,  and  Isaure,  to  Theodore  Garre,  son  of 
Madame  Sophie  Gail,  an  intimate  friend  of  Madame  Gay. 
These  two  women  were  known  as  "  Sophie  la  belle  "  and 
"  Sophie  la  laide  "  or  "  Sophie  de  la  parole  "  and  "  Sophie 
de  la  musique."  Together  they  composed  an  opera-com- 
ique  which  had  some  success.  In  1814  Madame  Gay 
wrote  Anatole,  an  interesting  novel  which  Napoleon  is 
said  to  have  read  the  last  night  he  passed  at  Fontainebleau 
before  taking  pathetic  farewell  of  his  guard.  A  few 
years  before  this,  she  wrote  another  novel  which  met  with 
much  success,  Leonine  de  Monbreuse,  a  study  of  the  so- 
ciety and  customs  of  the  Direct oire  and  of  the  Empire. 

1  Horace,  Cormina,  i,  36.  I. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  73 

Madame  Gay  had  made  a  literary  center  of  her  draw- 
ing-room in  the  rue  Gaillon  where  she  had  grouped  around 
her  twice  a  week  not  only  many  of  the  literary  and  artistic 
celebrities  of  the  epoch,  but  also  her  acquaintances  who 
had  occupied  political  situations  under  the  Empire.  Ma- 
dame Gay,  who  had  made  her  debut  under  the  Directoire, 
had  been  rather  prominent  under  the  Empire,  and  under 
the  Restoration  took  delight  in  condemning  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Bourbons.  Introduced  into  this  company, 
though  yet  unknown  to  fame,  Balzac  forcibly  impressed 
all  those  who  met  him,  and  while  his  physique  was  far 
from  charming,  the  intelligence  of  his  eyes  revealed  his 
superiority.  Familiar  and  even  hilarious,  he  enjoyed 
Madame  Gay's  salon  especially,  for  here  he  experienced 
entire  liberty,  feeling  no  restraint  whatever.  At  her  re- 
ceptions as  in  other  salons  of  Paris,  his  toilet,  neglected  at 
times  to  the  point  of  slovenliness,  yet  always  displayed 
some  distinguishing  peculiarity. 

Having  acquired  some  reputation,  the  young  novelist 
started  to  carry  about  with  him  the  enormous  and  now 
celebrated  cane,  the  first  of  a  series  of  magnificent  eccen- 
tricities. A  quaint  carriage,  a  groom  whom  he  called 
Anchise,  marvelous  dinners,  thirty-one  waistcoats  bought 
in  one  month,  with  the  intention  of  bringing  this  number 
to  three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  were  only  a  few  of  the 
number  of  bizarre  things  which  astonished  for  a  mo- 
ment his  feminine  friends,  and  which  he  laughingly 
called  reclame.  Like  many  writers  of  this  epoch,  Balzac 
was  not  polished  in  the  art  of  conversing.  His  conver- 
sation was  but  little  more  than  an  amusing  monologue, 
bright  and  at  times  noisy,  but  uniquely  filled  with  himself, 


74     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

and  that  which  concerned  him  personally.  The  good,  like 
the  evil,  was  so  grossly  exaggerated  that  both  lost  all  ap- 
pearance of  truth.  As  time  went  on,  his  financial  em- 
barrassments continually  growing  and  his  hopes  of  reliev- 
ing them  increasing  in  the  same  proportion,  his  future 
millions  and  his  present  debts  were  the  subject  of  all  his 
discourses. 

Madame  Gay  was  by  no  means  universally  beloved.  In 
her  sharp  and  disagreeable  voice  she  said  much  good  of 
herself  and  much  evil  of  others.  She  had  a  mania  for 
titles  and  was  ever  ready  to  mention  some  count,  baron 
or  marquis.  In  her  drawing-room,  Balzac  found  a  direct 
contrast  to  the  Royalist  salon  of  the  beautiful  Duchesse  de 
Castries  which  he  frequented.  In  both  salons,  he  met  a 
society  entirely  unfamiliar  to  him,  and  acquainted  him- 
self sufficiently  with  the  conventions  of  these  two  spheres 
to  make  use  of  them  in  his  novels. 

The  Physiologie  du  Manage,  published  anonymously  in 
December,  1829,  gave  rise  to  a  great  deal  of  discussion. 
According  to  Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  two  women  well 
advanced  in  years,  Madame  Sophie  Gay  and  Madame 
Hamelin,  are  supposed  to  have  inspired  the  work,  and 
even  to  have  dictated  some  of  its  anecdotes  least  flattering 
to  their  sex.  This  Madame  Hamelin,  born  in  Guadeloupe 
about  1776,  was  the  marvel  of  the  Directoire,  and  several 
times  was  sent  on  secret  missions  by  Napoleon.  The  role 
she  played  under  the  Directoire,  the  Consulat  and  the  Em- 
pire is  not  quite  clear,  but  she  was  a  confidential  friend  of 
Chateaubriand,  lived  in  the  noted  house  called  the  Made- 
leine, near  the  forest  of  Fontainebleau,  and  wrote  about  it 
as  did  Madame  de  Sevigne  about  Les  Rochers.  While 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  75 

living  there,  she  received  her  Bonapartist  friends  as  well  as 
her  Legitimist  friends.  Having  lived  in  a  society  where 
life  means  enjoyment,  she  had  many  anecdotes  to  relate. 
She  was  a  fine  equestrienne,  a  most  beautiful  dancer,  ap- 
parently naturally  graceful,  and  bore  the  sobriquet  of  la 
jolie  laide.  Her  marriage  to  the  banker,  M.  Hamelin,  to- 
gether with  her  accomplishments,  secured  her  a  place  in 
the  society  of  the  Directoire.  Balzac,  in  a  letter  to  Ma- 
dame Hanska,  refers  to  her  as  line  vieille  celebrite,  and 
states  that  she  wept  over  the  letter  of  Madame  de  Mort- 
sauf  to  Felix  in  Le  Lys  dans  la  Vallee.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  he  later  built  his  famous  house  and  breathed 
his  last  in  the  rue  Fortunee  to  which  Madame  Hamelin 
gave  her  Christian  name,  since  it  was  cut  through  her 
husband's  property,  the  former  Beaujon  Park,  and  that 
it  became  in  1851  the  rue  Balzac. 

Delphine  Gay,  the  beautiful  and  charming  daughter  of 
Madame  Sophie  Gay,  was  called  "  the  tenth  muse  "  by 
her  friends,  who  admired  the  sonorous  original  verses 
which  she  recited  as  a  young  girl  in  her  mother's  salon. 
She  became,  in  June,  1831,  the  wife  of  fimile  de  Girardin, 
the  founder  of  the  Presse.  Possessing  in  her  youth,  a 
bellesza  folgorante,  Madame  de  Girardin  was  then  in  all 
the  splendor  of  her  beauty;  her  magnificent  features, 
which  might  have  been  too  pronounced  for  a  young  girl, 
were  admirably  suited  to  the  woman  and  harmonized 
beautifully  with  her  tall  and  statuesque  figure.  Some- 
times, in  the  poems  of  her  youth,  she  spoke  as  an  author- 
ity on  the  subject  of  "  the  happiness  of  being  beautiful." 
It  was  not  coquetry  with  her,  it  was  the  sentiment  of  har- 


76     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

mony;  her  beautiful  soul  was  happy  in  dwelling  in  a 
beautiful  body. 

She  held  receptions  for  her  friends  after  the  opera,  and 
Balzac  was  one  of  the  frequenters  of  her  attractive  salon. 
Of  her  literary  friends  she  was  especially  proud.  Ac- 
cording to  Theophile  Gautier,  this  was  her  coquetry,  her 
luxury.  If  in  some  salon,  some  one  —  as  was  not  unusual 
at  that  time  —  attacked  one  of  her  friends,  with  what  elo- 
quent anger  did  she  defend  them !  What  keen  repartees, 
what  incisive  sarcasm!  On  these  occasions,  her  beauty 
glowed  and  became  illuminated  with  a  divine  radiance; 
she  was  magnificent ;  one  might  have  thought  Apollo  was 
preparing  to  flay  Marsyas ! 

"  Madame  de  Girardin  professed  for  Balzac  a  lively 
admiration  to  which  he  was  sensible,  and  for  which  he 
showed  his  gratitude  by  frequent  visits ;  a  costly  return  for 
him  who  was,  with  good  right,  so  avaricious  of  his  time 
and  of  his  working  hours.  Never  did  woman  possess  to 
so  high  a  degree  as  Delphine, —  we  were  allowed  to  call 
her  by  this  familiar  name  among  ourselves  —  the  gift  of 
drawing  out  the  wit  of  her  guests.  With  her,  we  always 
found  ourselves  in  poetical  raptures,  and  each  left  her 
salon  amazed  at  himself.  There  was  no  flint  so  rough 
that  she  could  not  cause  it  to  emit  one  spark;  and  with 
Balzac,  as  you  may  well  believe,  there  was  no  need  of 
trying  to  strike  fire ;  he  flashed  and  kindled  at  once."  2 

Balzac  was  interested  in  the  occult  sciences  —  in  chi- 
romancy and  cartomancy.     He  had  been  told  of  a  sibyl 
2  Theophile  Gautier,  Life  Portraits,  Balzac,  p.  218. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  77 

even  more  astonishing  than  Mademoiselle  Lenormand,  and 
he  resolved  that  Madame  de  Girardin,  Mery  and  Theophile 
Gautier  should  drive  with  him  to  the  abode  of  the  python- 
ess at  Auteuil.  The  address  given  them  was  incorrect, 
only  a  family  of  honest  citizens  living  there,  and  the  old 
mother  became  angry  at  being  taken  for  a  sorceress. 
They  had  to  make  an  ignominious  retreat,  but  Balzac  in- 
sisted that  this  really  was  the  place  and  muttered  maledic- 
tions on  the  old  woman.  Madame  de  Girardin  pretended 
that  Balzac  had  invented  all  this  for  the  sake  of  a  carriage 
drive  to  Auteuil,  and  to  procure  agreeable  traveling  com- 
panions. But  if  disappointed  on  this  occasion,  Balzac 
was  more  successful  at  another  time,  when  with  Madame 
de  Girardin  he  visited  the  "  magnetizer,"  M.  Dupotet,  rue 
du  Bac. 

Besides  enjoying  for  a  long  time  the  "  happiness  of 
being  beautiful,"  Delphine  also  enjoyed  almost  exclusively, 
in  her  set,  that  of  being  good.  In  this  respect,  she  was  su- 
perior to  her  mother  who  for  the  sake  of  a  witticism,  never 
hesitated  to  offend  another.  She  had  but  few  enemies, 
and,  wishing  to  have  none,  tried  to  win  over  those  who 
were  inimical  towards  her.  For  twenty-five  years  she 
played  the  diplomat  among  all  the  rivals  in  talent  and  in 
glory  who  frequented  her  salon  in  the  rue  LarBtte  or  in 
the  Champs-filysees.  She  prevented  Victor  Hugo  from 
breaking  with  Lamartine;  she  remained  the  friend  of  Bal- 
zac when  he  quarreled  with  her  autocratic  husband.  She 
encouraged  Gautier,  she  consoled  George  Sand ;  she  had  a 
charming  word  for  every  one ;  and  always  and  everywhere 
prevailed  her  merry  laughter  —  even  when  she  longed  to 


7 8     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

weep.  But  her  cheery  laugh  was  not  her  highest  endow- 
ment; her  greatest  gift  was  in  making  others  laugh.3 

Balzac  had  a  sincere  affection  for  Delphine  Gay  and 
enjoyed  her  salon.  In  his  letters  to  her  he  often  ad- 
dressed her  as  Cara  and  Ma  chere  ecoliere.  Her  poetry 
having  been  converted  into  prose  by  her  prosaic  husband, 
she  submitted  her  writings  to  Balzac  as  to  an  enlightened 
master.  He  asked  Delphine  Divine  to  write  a  preface  for 
his  Etudes  de  Femmes,  but  she  declined,  saying  that  an 
habitue  of  the  opera  who  could  so  transform  himself  as  to 
paint  the  admirable  Abbe  Birotteau,  could  certainly  sur- 
pass her  in  writing  unc  preface  de  femme.  She  did,  how- 
ever, write  the  sonnet  on  the  Marguerite  which  Lucien  de 
Rubempre  displayed  as  one  of  the  samples  of  his  volume 
of  verses  to  the  publisher  Dauriat ;  also  Le  Chardon.  Bal- 
zac made  use  of  this  poem,  however,  only  in  the  original 
edition  of  his  work;  it  was  replaced  in  the  Comedie  hu- 
maine  by  another  sonnet,  written  probably  by  Lassailly. 
Madame  de  Girardin  brings  her  master  before  the  pub- 
lic by  mentioning  his  name  in  her  Marguerite,  on  deux 
'Amours,  where  a  personage  in  the  book  tells  about  Bal- 
zac's return  from  Austria  and  his  inability  to  speak  Ger- 
man when  paying  the  coachman. 

It  was  at  the  home  of  Madame  de  Girardin  that  Lamar- 
tine  met  Balzac  for  the  first  time,  June,  1839.  He  asked 
her  to  invite  Balzac  to  dinner  with  him  that  he  might  thank 
him,  as  he  was  just  recovering  from  an  illness  during 
which  he  had  "  simply  lived  "  on  the  novels  of  the  Comedie 
humaine.  The  invitation  she  wrote  Balzac  runs  as  fol- 

3  For  a  beautiful  picture  of  Madame  de  Girardin,  see  Leon  Seche, 
Delphine  Gay. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  79 

lows :  "  M.  de  Lamartine  is  to  dine  with  me  Sunday,  and 
wishes  absolutely  to  dine  with  you.  Nothing  would  give 
him  greater  pleasure.  Come  then  and  be  obliging.  He 
has  a  sore  leg,  you  have  a  sore  foot,  we  will  take  care  of 
both  of  you,  we  will  give  you  some  cushions  and  foot- 
stools. Come,  come!  A  thousand  affectionate  greet- 
ings." 4  And  Lamartine  has  left  this  appreciation  of  her 
and  her  friendship  for  Balzac : 

"  Madame  £mile  de  Girardin,  daughter  of  Madame  Gay 
who  had  reared  her  to  succeed  her  on  two  thrones,  the 
one  of  beauty,  the  other  of  wit,  had  inherited,  moreover, 
that  kindness  which  inspires  love  with  admiration. 
These  three  gifts,  beauty,  wit,  kindness,  had  made  her  the 
queen  of  the  century.  One  could  admire  her  more  or  less 
as  a  poetess,  but,  if  one  knew  her  thoroughly,  it  was  im- 
possible not  to  love  her  as  a  woman.  She  had  some  pas- 
sion, but  no  hatred.  Her  thunderbolts  were  only  elec- 
tricity; her  imprecations  against  the  enemies  of  her  hus- 
band were  only  anger ;  that  passed  with  the  storm.  It  was 
always  beautiful  in  her  soul,  her  days  of  hatred  had  no 
morrow.  .  .  .  She  knew  my  desire  to  know  -Balzac.  She 
loved  him,  as  I  was  disposed  to  love  him  myself.  .  .  .  She 
felt  herself  in  unison  with  him,  whether  through  gaiety 
with  his  joviality,  through  seriousness  with  his  sadness,  or 
through  imagination  with  his  talent.  He  regarded  her 
also  as  a  rare  creature,  near  whom  he  could  forget  all  the 
discomforts  of  his  miserable  existence."  5 

A  few  years  after  their  meeting,  Lamartine  inquired 
Balzac's  address  of  Madame  de  Girardin,  as  she  was  one 

4  Leon  Seche,  Delphine  Gay,  p.  207. 

6  A.  de  Lamartine,  Balzac  et  ses  (Euvres,  pp.  g,  10. 


8o    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

of  the  few  people  who  knew  where  he  was  hiding  on  ac- 
count of  his  debts.  Balzac  was  appreciative  of  the  many 
courtesies  extended  to  him  by  Madame  de  Girardin  and 
was  delighted  to  have  her  received  by  his  friends,  among 
whom  was  the  Duchesse  de  Castries. 

Madame  de  Girardin  made  constant  efforts  to  keep  the 
peace  between  Balzac  and  her  husband,  the  potentate  of  the 
Presse,  Balzac  had  known  fimile  de  Girardin  since  1829, 
having  been  introduced  to  him  by  Levavasseur,  who 
had  just  published  his  Physiologie  du  Manage.  Later 
Balzac  took  his  Verdugo  to  M.  de  Girardin  which  ap- 
peared in  La  Mode  in  which  Madame  de  Girardin  and  her 
mother  were  collaborating;  but  these  two  men  were  too 
domineering  and  too  violent  to  have  amicable  business 
dealings  with  each  other  for  any  length  of  time.  Balzac, 
while  being  un  bourreau  d'argent,  would  have  thought 
himself  dishonored  in  subordinating  his  art  to  questions  of 
commercialism;  M.  de  Girardin  only  esteemed  literature 
in  so  far  as  it  was  a  profitable  business.  They  quarreled 
often,  and  each  time  Madame  de  Girardin  defended 
Balzac. 

Their  first  serious  controversy  was  in  1834.  Balzac 
was  no  longer  writing  for  La  Mode;  he  took  the  liberty  of 
reproducing  elsewhere  some  of  his  articles  which  he  had 
given  to  this  paper;  M.  de  Girardin  insisted  that  they  were 
his  property  and  that  his  consent  should  have  been  asked. 
Madame  de  Girardin  naturally  knew  of  the  quarrel  and 
had  a  difficult  role  to  play.  If  she  condemned  Balzac,  she 
would  be  lacking  in  friendship;  if  she  agreed  with  him, 
she  would  be  both  disrespectful  to  her  husband  and  un- 
just. Like  the  clever  woman  that  she  was,  she  said  both 


George  Sand 
From  a  portrait  by  Delacroix 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  81 

were  wrong,  and  when  she  thought  their  anger  had  passed, 
she  wrote  a  charming  letter  to  Balzac  urging  him  to  come 
dine  with  her,  since  he  owed  her  this  much  because  he  had 
refused  her  a  short  time  before.  She  begged  that  they 
might  become  good  friends  again  and  enjoy  the  beautiful 
days  laughing  together.  He  must  come  to  dinner  the  next 
Sunday,  Easter  Sunday,  for  she  was  expecting  two  guests 
from  Normandy  who  had  most  thrilling  adventures  to 
relate,  and  they  would  be  delighted  to  meet  him.  Again, 
her  sister,  Madame  O'Donnel,  was  ill,  but  would  get  up  to 
see  him,  for  she  felt  that  the  mere  sight  of  him  would 
cure  her. 

Anybody  but  Balzac  would  have  accepted  this  invita- 
tion of  Madame  de  Girardin's,  were  it  only  to  show  his 
gratitude  for  what  she  had  done  for  him ;  but  Balzac  was 
so  fiery  and  so  mortified  by  the  letter  of  M.  de  Girardin 
that,  without  taking  time  to  reflect,  he  wrote  to  Madame 
Hanska : 

"  I  have  said  adieu  to  that  mole-hill  of  Gay,  Smile  de 
Girardin  and  Company.  I  seized  the  first  opportunity, 
and  it  was  so  favorable  that  I  broke  off,  point-blank.  A 
disagreeable  affair  came  near  following;  but  my  suscepti- 
bility as  man  of  the  pen  was  calmed  by  one  of  my  col- 
lege friends,  ex-captain  in  the  ex-Royal  Guard,  who  ad- 
vised me.  It  all  ended  with  a  piquant  speech  replying  to 
a  jest."  6 

However,  in  answering  the  invitation  of  Madame  de 
Girardin,  Balzac  wrote  most  courteously  expressing  his  re- 
grets at  Madame  O'Donnel's  illness  and  pleading  work  as 

6  Lettres  a  l'£trangeret  v.  I,  p.  144,  March  30,  1834. 


82     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

his  excuse  for  not  accepting.  This  did  not  prevent  the 
ardent  peacemaker  from  making  another  attempt.  Tak- 
ing advantage  of  her  husband's  absence  a  few  weeks  later, 
she  invited  Balzac  to  lunch  with  Madame  O'Donnel  and 
herself.  But  time  had  not  yet  done  its  work,  so  Balzac 
declined,  saying  that  it  would  be  illogical  for  him  to  accept 
when  M.  de  Girardin  was  not  at  home,  since  he  did  not  go 
there  when  he  was  present.  The  following  excerpts  from 
his  letters,  declining  her  various  invitations,  show  that  Bal- 
zac regarded  her  as  his  friend : 

"  The  regret  I  experience  is  caused  quite  as  much  by 
the  blue  eyes  and  blond  hair  of  a  lady  who  I  believe  to  be 
my  friend  —  and  whom  I  would  gladly  have  for  mine  — 
as  by  those  black  eyes  which  you  recall  to  my  remem- 
brance, and  which  had  made  an  impression  on  me.  But 
indeed  I  can  not  come.  .  .  .  Your  salon  was  almost  the 
only  one  where  I  found  myself  on  a  footing  of  friend- 
ship. You  will  hardly  perceive  my  absence ;  and  I  remain 
alone.  I  thank  you  with  sincere  and  affectionate  feeling, 
for  your  kind  persistence.  I  believe  you  to  be  actuated  by 
a  good  motive ;  and  you  will  always  find  in  me  something 
of  devotion  towards  you  in  all  that  personally  concerns 
yourself." T 

Her  attempts  to  restore  the  friendship  were  futile,  ow- 
ing to  the  obstinacy  of  the  quarrel,  but  she  eventually  suc- 
ceeded by  means  of  her  novel,  La  Canne  de  Monsieur  de 
Balzac.  In  describing  this  cane  as  a  sort  of  club  made  of 

''Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balsac,  v.  i,  pp.  395,  399,  1834.  The  blue 
eyes  refer  to  Madame  de  Girardin,  and  the  black  eyes  to  her  wid- 
owed sister,  Madame  O'Donnel. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  83 

turquoises,  gold  and  marvelous  chasings,  Madame  de  Gir- 
ardin  incidentally  compliments  Balzac  by  making  Tancrede 
observe  that  Balzac's  large,  black  eyes  are  more  brilliant 
than  these  gems,  and  wonder  how  so  intellectual  a  man 
can  carry  so  ugly  a  cane. 

This  famous  cane  belongs  to-day  to  Madame  la  Ba- 
ronne  de  Fontenay,  daughter  of  Doctor  Nacquart.  In 
October,  1850,  Madame  Honore  de  Balzac  wrote  a 
letter  to  Doctor  Nacquart,  Balzac's  much  loved  phy- 
sician, asking  him  to  accept,  as  a  souvenir  of  his 
illustrious  friend,  this  cane  which  had  created  such  a  sen- 
sation,—  the  entire  mystery  of  which  consisted  in  a  small 
chain  which  she  had  worn  as  a  young  girl,  and  which  had 
been  used  in  making  the  knob.  There  has  been  much  dis- 
cussion as  to  its  actual  appearance.  He  describes  it  to 
Madame  Hanska  (March  30,  1835),  as  bubbling  with 
turquoise  on  a  chased  gold  knob.  The  description  of  M. 
Werdet  can  not  be  relied  on,  for  he  states  that  Gosselin 
brought  him  the  cane  in  October,  1836,  and  that  Balzac 
conceived  the  idea  of  it  while  at  a  banquet  in  prison,  but, 
as  has  been  shown,  the  cane  was  in  existence  as  early  as 
March,  1835,  and  Madame  de  Girardin's  book  appeared 
in  May,  1836.  As  to  the  description  of  the  cane  given  by 
Paul  Lacroix,  the  Princess  Radziwill  states  that  the  cane 
owned  by  him  is  the  one  that  Madame  Hanska  gave  Bal- 
zac, and  which  he  afterwards  discarded  for  the  gaudier 
one  he  had  ordered  for  himself.  This  first  cane  was  left 
by  him  to  his  nephew,  Edouard  Lacroix.  Several  years 
later  (1845),  Balzac  had  Froment  Meurice  make  a  cane 
aux  singes  for  the  Count  George  de  Mniszech,  future  son- 


84     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

in-law  of  Madame  Hanska,  so  the  various  canes  existing  in 
connection  with  Balzac  may  help  to  explain  the  varying  de- 
scriptions.8 

Balzac  could  not  remain  indifferent  after  Madame  de 
Girardin  had  thus  brought  his  celebrated  cane  into  promi- 
nence. He  was  absent  from  Paris  when  the  novel  ap- 
peared, and  scarcely  had  he  returned  when  he  wrote  her 
(May  27,  1836),  cordially  thanking  her  as  an  old  friend. 
He  also  after  this  made  peace  with  M.  de  Girardin.  But 
one  difficulty  was  scarcely  settled  before  another  began, 
and  the  ever  faithful  Delphine  was  continually  occupied 
in  trying  to  establish  peace.  Her  numerous  letters  to  Bal- 
zac are  filled  with  such  expressions  as :  "  Come  to-mor- 
row, come  to  dinner.  Come,  we  can  not  get  along  without 
you!  Come,  Paris  is  an  awful  bore.  We  need  you  to 
laugh.  Come  dine  with  us,  come !  Come ! ! !  Now  come 
have  dinner  with  us  to-morrow  or  day  after  to-morrow, 
to-day,  or  even  yesterday,  every  day ! !  A  thousand  greet- 
ings from  £mile."  9  Thus  with  her  hospitality  and  merry 
disposition,  she  bridged  many  a  break  between  her  hus- 
band and  Balzac. 

Finally,  not  knowing  \vhat  to  do,  she  decided  not  to  let 
Balzac  mention  the  latest  quarrel.  When  he  referred  to 
it,  she  replied :  "  Oh !  no,  I  beg  you,  speak  to  Theophile 
Gautier.  It  is  not  for  nothing  that  I  have  given  him 
charge  of  the  feuilleton  of  the  Presse.  That  no  longer 
concerns  me,  make  arrangements  with  him."  Then  she 

8  For  further  comments  on  this  much  discussed  cane,  see  Leon 
Seche,  les  Annales  romantiques,  pp.  168,  169,  1910-1911.    Jules  Clare- 
tie,  ibid.,  p.  223,  1908-1909.     Paul  Lacroix  le  Livre,  pp.  279,  280,  1882. 
J.  W.  Sherer,  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  pp.  600-607,  June,  1884. 

9  S.  de  Lovenjoul,  La  Genese  d'un  roinan  de  Balzac,  pp.  107-122. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  85 

counseled  her  husband  to  have  Theophile  Gautier  direct 
this  part  of  the  Presse  in  order  not  to  contend  with  Balzac, 
but  the  novelist  was  so  unreasonable  that  M.  de  Girardin 
had  to  intervene.  "  My  beautiful  Queen,"  once  wrote 
Theophile  to  Delphine,  "  if  this  continues,  rather  than  be 
caught  between  the  anvil  fimile  and  the  hammer  Balzac,  I 
shall  return  my  apron  to  you.  I  prefer  planting  cabbage 
or  raking  the  walks  of  your  garden."  To  this,  Madame 
de  Girardin  replied  :  "  I  have  a  gardener  with  whom  I  am 
very  well  satisfied,  thank  you ;  continue  to  maintain  order 
du  palais."  10 

The  relations  between  M.  de  Girardin  and  the  novelist 
became  so  strained  that  Balzac  visited  Madame  de  Girar- 
din only  when  he  knew  he  would  not  encounter  her  hus- 
band. M.  de  Girardin  retired  early  in  the  evening;  his 
wife  received  her  literary  friends  after  the  theater  or 
opera.  At  this  hour,  Balzac  was  sure  not  to  meet  her 
husband,  whose  non-appearance  permitted  the  intimate 
friends  to  discuss  literature  at  their  ease. 

Although  Madame  de  Girardin  was  married  to  a  publi- 
cist, she  did  not  like  journalists,  so  she  conceived  the  fancy 
of  writing  a  satirical  comedy,  L'&cole  des  Journalistes,  in 
which  she  painted  the  journalists  in  rather  unflattering  col- 
ors. The  work  was  received  by  the  committee  of  the 
Theatre-Frangais,  but  the  censors  stopped  the  perform- 
ance. Balzac  was  angry  at  this  interdiction,  for  he  too 
disliked  journalists,  but  Madame  de  Girardin  took  the  cen- 
sorship philosophically.  In  her  salon  she  read  L'Ecole  des 
Jo-urnalistes  to  her  literary  friends;  there  Balzac  figured 
prominently,  dressed  for  this  occasion  in  his  blue  suit  with 

10  Leon  Seche,  Delphine  Gay,  pp.  223,  224. 


86     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

engraved  gold  buttons,  making  his  coarse  Rabelaisian 
laughter  heard  throughout  the  whole  reading. 

Balzac's  fame  increased  with  the  years,  but  he  still  re- 
garded the  friendship  of  Madame  de  Girardin  among 
those  he  most  prized,  and  in  1842  he  dedicated  to  her 
Albert  Savams.  When  she  moved  into  the  little  Greek 
temple  in  the  Champs-filysees,  she  was  nearer  Balzac,  who 
was  living  at  that  time  in  the  rue  Basse  at  Passy,  so  their 
relations  became  more  intimate.  Yet  when,  after  his  re- 
turn from  St.  Petersburg  where  he  had  visited  Madame 
Hanska  in  1843,  the  Presse  published  the  scandalous  story 
about  his  connection  with  the  Italian  forger,  he  vowed  he 
would  never  see  again  the  scorpions  Gay  and  Girardin. 

Madame  de  Girardin  regretted  Balzac's  not  being  a 
member  of  the  Academy.  In  1845,  a  chair  being  vacant, 
she  tried  to  secure  it  for  him.  Although  her  salon  was  not 
an  "  academic  "  one,  she  had  several  friends  who  were 
members  of  the  Academy  and  she  exerted  her  influence 
with  them  in  his  behalf;  when,  after  all  her  solicitude,  he 
failed  to  gain  a  place  among  the  "  forty  immortals,"  she 
had  bitter  words  for  their  poor  judgment,  Balzac  at  that 
time  being  at  the  zenith  of  his  reputation.  Some  time  be- 
fore this,  too,  she  promised  to  write  a  feuilleton  on  the 
great  conversationalists  of  the  day,  maintaining  that  Bal- 
zac was  one  of  the  most  brilliant;  and  she  was  thoughtful 
in  inserting  in  her  feuilleton  a  few  gracious  words  about 
his  recent  illness  and  recovery. 

Balzac  confided  to  Madame  de  Girardin  his  all  absorb- 
ing passion  for  Madame  Hanska.  She  knew  of  the  secret 
visit  of  the  "  Countess  "  to  Paris  and  of  his  four  days' 
visit  with  her  in  Wiesbaden.  She  knew  all  the  noble 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  87 

qualities  and  countless  charms  of  the  adored  "  Coun- 
tess," but  never  having  seen  her,  she  felt  that  Madame 
Hanska  did  not  fully  reciprocate  the  passionate  love  of 
her  moujik.  Becoming  ironical,  she  called  Balzac  a  Vet- 
turino  per  amore,  and  told  him  she  had  heard  that  Ma- 
dame Hanska  was,  to  be  sure,  exceedingly  flattered  by  his 
homage  and  made  him  follow  wherever  she  went  —  but 
only  through  vanity  and  pride, —  that  she  was  indeed  very 
happy  in  having  for  patito  a  man  of  genius,  but  that  her 
social  position  was  too  high  to  permit  his  aspiring  to  any 
other  title. 

When  the  Avant-Propos  of  the  Comedie  hiwtiaine  was 
reprinted  in  the  Presse,  October  25,  1846,  it  was  preceded 
by  a  very  flattering  introduction  written  by  Madame  de 
Girardin.  She  continued  to  entertain  the.  novelist,  sending 
him  many  amusing  invitations.  In  spite  of  the  "  Poten- 
tate of  the  Presse/'  her  friendship  with  Balzac  lasted  un- 
til 1847,  when  she  had  to  give  him  up. 

The  ever  faithful  Delphine  knew  of  Balzac's  financial 
embarrassment  and  persuaded  her  husband  to  postpone 
pressing  him  for  the  debts  which  he  had  partially  paid 
before  setting  out  for  the  Ukraine.  The  Revolution  of 
February  seriously  affected  Balzac's  financial  matters. 
After  the  death  of  Madame  O'Donnel,  in  1841,  Madame 
de  Girardin's  friendship  lost  a  part  of  its  charm  for  Balzac 
and  the  rest  of  it  vanished  in  these  troubles.  Since  the 
greater  part  of  the  last  few  years  of  Balzac's  life  was  spent 
in  the  Ukraine,  she  saw  but  little  of  him,  but  she  hoped  for 
his  return  with  his  long  sought  bride  to  the  home  he  had 
so  lovingly  prepared  for  her  in  the  rue  Fortunee. 

Whether  Balzac  was  fickle  in  his  nature,  or  whether  he 


88     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

was  trying  to  convince  Madame  Hanska  that  she  was  the 
only  woman  for  whom  he  cared,  one  finds,  throughout  his 
letters  to  her,  various  comments  on  Madame  de  Girardin, 
some  favorable,  some  otherwise.  He  admired  her  beauty 
very  much,  and  was  saddened  when,  at  the  height  of  her 
splendor,  she  was  stricken  with  smallpox.  He  was  grate- 
ful to  her  for  the  service  she  rendered  him  in  arranging 
for  the  first  presentation  of  his  play  Vautrin;  throughout 
the  misfortune  attending  this  production  she  proved  to  be 
a  true  friend.  Although  he  accepted  her  hospitality  fre- 
quently, at  times  being  invited  to  meet  foreigners,  among 
them  the  German  Mile,  de  Hahn,  enjoying  himself  im- 
mensely, he  regretted  the  time  he  sacrificed  in  this  manner, 
and  when  he  quarreled  with  her  husband,  he  expressed  his 
happiness  in  severing  his  relations  with  them.  While  a 
charming  hostess  at  a  small  dinner  party,  she  became,  Bal- 
zac felt,  a  less  agreeable  one  at  a  large  reception,  her  tal- 
ents not  being  sufficient  to  conceal  her  bourgeois  origin. 

Madame  de  Girardin  was  in  the  country  near  Paris 
when  she  heard  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  the  author  of 
the  Comedie  humaine.  The  shock  was  so  great  that  she 
fainted,  and,  on  regaining  consciousness,  wept  bitterly 
over  the  premature  death  of  her  friend.  A  few  years  be- 
fore her  own  death,  in  1855,  Madame  de  Girardin  was 
greatly  depressed  by  painful  disappointments.  The  death 
of  Balzac  may  be  numbered  as  one  of  the  sad  events  which 
discouraged,  in  the  decline  of  life,  the  heart  and  the  hope 
of  this  noble  woman. 

Madame  Desbordes-Valmore  was  another  literary 
woman  whom  Balzac  met  in  the  salon  of  Madame  Sophie 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  89 

Gay,  where  she  and  Delphine  recited  poetry.  Losing  her 
mother  at  an  early  age  under  especially  sad  circumstances 
and  finding  her  family  destitute,  after  long  hesitation,  she 
resigned  herself  to  the  stage.  Though  very  delicate,  by 
dint  of  studious  nights,  close  economy  and  many  priva- 
tions, she  prepared  herself  for  this  work.  At  this  time  she 
contracted  a  habit  of  suffering  which  passed  into  her  life. 
She  played  at  the  Opera  Comiquc  and  recited  well,  but  did 
not  sing.  At  the  age  of  twenty  her  private  griefs  com- 
pelled her  to  give  up  singing,  for  the  sound  of  her  own 
voice  made  her  weep.  So  from  music  she  turned  to 
poetry,  and  her  first  volume  of  poems  appeared  in  1818. 
She  began  her  theatrical  career  in  Lille,  played  at  the 
Odeon,  Paris,  and  in  Brussels,  where  she  was  married 
in  1817  to  M.  Valmore,  who  was  playing  in  the  same 
theater.  Though  she  went  to  Lyons,  to  Italy,  and  to  the 
Antilles,  she  made  her  home  in  Paris,  wandering  from 
quarter  to  quarter. 

Of  her  three  children,  Hippolyte,  Undine  (whose  real 
name  was  Hyacinthe)  and  Ines,  the  two  daughters  passed 
away  before  her.  Her  husband  was  honor  and  probity 
itself,  and  suffered  only  as  a  man  can,  from  compulsory 
inaction.  He  asked  but  for  honest  employment  and  the 
privilege  to  work.  She  was  so  sensitive  and  felt  so  un- 
worthy that  she  did  not  call  for  her  pension  after  it  was 
secured  for  her  by  her  friends,  Madame  Recamier  and  M. 
de  Latouche.  A  letter  written  by  her  to  Antoine  de  La- 
tour  (October  15,  1836)  gives  a  general  idea  of  her  life: 
"  I  do  not  know  how  I  have  slipped  through  so  many 
shocks, —  and  yet  I  live.  My  fragile  existence  slipped 
sorrowfully  into  this  world  amid  the  pealing  bells  of  a 


90    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

revolution,  into  whose  whirlpool  I  was  soon  to  be  in- 
volved. I  was  born  at  the  churchyard  gate,  in  the 
shadow  of  a  church  whose  saints  were  soon  to  be  dese- 
crated." n 

She  was  indeed  a  "  tender  and  impassioned  poetess,  .  .  . 
one  who  united  an  exquisite  moral  sensibility  to  a  thrill- 
ing gift  of  song.  .  .  .  Her  verses  were  doubtless  the  ex- 
pression of  her  life;  in  them  she  is  reflected  in  hues  both 
warm  and  bright;  they  ring  with  her  cries  of  love  and 
grief.  .  .  .  Hers  was  the  most  courageous,  tender  and 
compassionate  of  souls."  12  i 

A  letter  written  to  Madame  Duchambve  (December  7, 
1841),  shows  what  part  she  played  in  Balzac's  literary 
career : 

"  You  know,  my  other  self,  that  even  ants  are  of  some 
use.  And  so  it  was  I  who  suggested,  not  M.  de  Balzac's 
piece,  but  the  notion  of  writing  it  and  the  distribution  of 
the  parts,  and  then  the  idea  of  Mme.  Dorval,  whom  I  love 
for  her  talent,  but  especially  for  her  misfortunes,  and 
because  she  is  dear  to  me.  I  have  made  such  a  moan, 
that  I  have  obtained  the  sympathy  and  assistance  of  — 
whom  do  you  guess?  —  poor  Thisbe,  who  spends  her  life 
in  the  service  of  the  litterateur.  She  talked  and  insinu- 
ated and  insisted,  until  at  last  he  came  to  me  and  said, 
'  So  it  shall  be !  My  mind  is  made  up !  Mme.  Dorval 
shall  have  a  superb  part!'  And  how  he  laughed!  .  .  . 
Keep  this  a  profound  secret.  Never  betray  either  me  or 
poor  Thisbe,  particularly  our  influence  on  behalf  of  Mme. 
Dorval."  13 

11  Sainte-Beuve,  Madame  Desbordes-Valmore,  p.  81. 

12  Sainte-Beuve,  Madame  Desbordes-Valmore,  pp.  2,  177. 

13  Sainte-Beuve,  op.  cit.,  p.  135.    The  play  referred  to  is  doubtless 
Les  Ressources  de  Quinola. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  91 

His  friendship  for  her  is  seen  in  a  letter  written  to  her 
in  1840: 

"  Dear  Nightingale, —  Two  letters  have  arrived,  too 
brief  by  two  whole  pages,  but  perfumed  with  poetry, 
breathing  the  heaven  whence  they  come,  so  that  (a  thing 
which  rarely  happens  with  me)  I  remained  in  a  reverie 
with  the  letters  in  my  hand,  making  a  poem  all  alone  to 
myself,  saying,  '  She  has  then  retained  a  recollection  of 
the  heart  in  which  she  awoke  an  echo,  she  and  all  her 
poetry  of  every  kind.'  We  are  natives  of  the  same  coun- 
try, madame,  the  country  of  tears  and  poverty.  We  are 
as  much  neighbors  and  fellow-citizens  as  prose  and  poetry 
can  be  in  France ;  but  I  draw  near  to  you  by  the  feeling 
with  which  I  admire  you,  and  which  made  me  stand  for 
an  hour  of  ten  minutes  before  your  picture  in  the  Salon. 
Adieu !  My  letter  will  not  tell  you  all  my  thoughts ;  but 
find  by  intuition  all  the  friendship  which  I  have  entrusted 
to  it,  and  all  the  treasures  which  I  would  send  you  if  I 
had  them  at  my  disposal."  14 

Soon  after  Balzac  met  Madame  Hanska,  he  reserved  for 
her  the  original  of  an  epistle  from  Madame  Desbordes- 
Valmore  which  he  regarded  as  a  masterpiece.  Bal- 
zac's friendship  for  the  poetess,  which  began  so  early  in 
his  literary  life,  was  a  permanent  one.  Just  before  leav- 
ing for  his  prolonged  visit  in  Russia,  he  wrote  her  a  most 
complimentary  letter  in  which  he  expressed  his  hopes  of 
being  of  service  to  M.  Valmore  at  the  Comedie  Franchise, 
and  bade  her  good-by,  wishing  her  and  her  family  much 
happiness. 

14  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  167,  1840. 


92     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Madame  Desbordes-Valmore  was  one  of  the  three 
women  whom  Balzac  used  as  a  model  in  portraying  some 
of  the  traits  of  his  noted  character,  Cousin  Bette.  He 
made  Douai,  her  native  place,  the  setting  of  La  Redurche 
de  I'Absolu,  and  dedicated  to  her  in  1845  one  °f  ms  early 
stories,  Jesus-Christ  en  Flandres: 

"  To  Marceline  Desbordes-Valmore, 

"  To  you,  daughter  of  Flanders,  who  are  one  of  its 
modern  glories,  I  dedicate  this  naive  tradition  of  old 
Flanders. 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

Though  Balzac's  first  play,  and  first  attempt  in  litera- 
ture, Cromwell,  was  a  complete  failure,  this  did  not  deter 
him  from  longing  to  become  a  successful  playwright. 
After  having  established  himself  as  a  novelist,  he  turned 
again  to  this  field  of  literature.  Having  written  several 
plays,  he  was  acquainted,  naturally,  with  the  leading  ac- 
tresses of  his  day;  among  these  was  Madame  Dorval, 
whom  he  liked.  He  purposed  giving  her  the  main  role 
in  Les  Ressoiirces  de  Quinola,  but  when  he  assembled  the 
artists  to  hear  his  play,  he  had  not  finished  it,  and  impro- 
vised the  fifth  act  so  badly  that  Madame  Dorval  left  the 
room,  refusing  to  accept  her  part. 

Again,  he  wished  her  to  take  the  leading  role  in  La 
Maratre  (as  the  play  was  called  after  she  had  objected  to 
the  name  Gertrude,  Tragedie  bourgeoise).  To  their  dis- 
appointment, however,  the  theater  director,  Hostein,  gave 
the  heroine's  part  to  Madame  Lacressoniere ;  the  tragedy 
was  produced  in  1848.  The  following  year,  while  in 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  93 

Russia,  Balzac  sketched  another  play  in  which  Madame 
Dorval  was  to  have  the  leading  role,  but  she  died  a  few 
weeks  later. 

Mademoiselle  Georges  was  asked  to  take  the  role  of 
Brancadori  in  Le$  Ressources  de  Quinola,  presented  for 
the  first  time  on  March  19,  1842,  at  the  Odeon. 

Balzac  was  acquainted  with  Mademoiselle  Mars  also, 
and  was  careful  to  preserve  her  autograph  in  order  to  send 
it  to  his  "  Polar  Star,"  when  the  actress  wrote  to  him  about 
her  role  in  La  grande  Mademoiselle. 
\ 

LA   DUCHESSE   D'ABRANTES 

"  She  has  ended  like  the  Empire."  15 

Another  of  Balzac's  literary  friends  was  Madame  Laure 
Junot,  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes.  She  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  Madame  de  Girardin  and  it  was  in  the  salon  of 
the  latter's  mother,  Madame  Sophie  Gay,  that  Balzac  met 
her. 

The  Duchesse  d'Abrantes,  widow  of  Marechal  Junot, 
had  enjoyed  under  the  Empire  all  the  splendors  of  official 
life.  Her  salon  had  been  one  of  the  most  attractive  of 
her  epoch.  Being  in  reduced  circumstances  after  the 
downfall  of  the  Empire  and  having  four  children  (Jose- 
phine, Constance,  Napoleon  and  Alfred)  to  support,  her 
life  was  a  constant  struggle  to  obtain  a  fortune  and  a  posi- 
tion for  her  children.  But  as  she  had  no  financial  ability, 
and  had  acquired  very  extravagant  habits,  the  money  she 
was  constantly  seeking  no  sooner  entered  her  hands  than 
it  vanished.  Wishing  to  renounce  none  of  her  former 
15  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  487,  August  8,  1838. 


94     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

luxuries,  she  insisted  upon  keeping  her  salon  as  in  former 
days,  trying  to  conceal  her  poverty  by  her  gaiety ;  but  it 
was  a  sorrowful  case  of  la  mis  ere  doree. 

Feeling  that  luxury  was  as  indispensable  to  her  as  bread, 
and  finding  her  financial  embarrassment  on  the  increase, 
she  decided  to  support  herself  by  means  of  her  pen.  She 
might  well  have  recalled  the  wise  words  of  Madame  de 
Tencin  when  she  warned  Marmontel  to  beware  of  depend- 
ing on  the  pen,  since  nothing  is  more  casual.  The  man 
who  makes  shoes  is  sure  of  his  pay;  the  man  who  writes  a 
book  or  a  play  is  never  sure  of  anything.16 

Though  the  Generale  Junot  belonged  to  a  society  far 
different  from  Balzac's,  they  had  many  things  in  common 
which  brought  him  frequently  to  her  salon.  Balzac  real- 
ized the  necessity  of  frequenting  the  salons,  saying  that  the 
first  requisite  of  a  novelist  is  to  be  well-bred;  he  must 
move  in  society  as  much  as  possible  and  converse  with  the 
aristocratic  monde.  The  kitchen,  the  green-room,  can  be 
imagined,  but  not  the  salon ;  it  is  necessary  to  go  there  in 
order  to  know  how  to  speak  and  act  there. 

Though  Balzac  visited  various  salons,  he  presented  a 
different  appearance  in  the  drawing-room  of  Madame 
d'Abrantes.  The  glories  of  the  Empire  overexcited  him 
to  the  point  of  giving  to  his  relations  with  the  Duchesse  a 
vivacity  akin  to  passion.  The  first  evening,  he  exclaimed : 
"  This  woman  has  seen  Napoleon  as  a  child,  she  has  seen 
him  as  a  young  man,  still  unknown,  she  has  seen  him  occu- 
pied with  the  ordinary  things  of  life,  then  she  has  seen  him 
develop,  rise  and  cover  the  world  with  his  name !  She  is 
for  me  a  saint  come  to  sit  beside  me,  after  having  lived  in 

16  Marmontel,  Memoires,  v.  I,  book  4,  p.  245. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  95 

heaven  with  God !  "  This  love  of  Balzac  for  Napoleon 
underwent  more  than  one  variation,  but  at  this  time  he  had 
erected  in  his  home  in  the  rue  de  Cassini  a  little  altar  sur- 
mounted by  a  statue  of  Napoleon,  with  this  inscription: 
"  What  he  began  with  the  sword,  I  shall  achieve  with  the 
pen."  17 

When  Balzac  first  met  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes,  she  was 
about  forty  years  of  age.  It  is  probably  she  whom  he 
describes  thus,  under  the  name  of  Madame  d'Aiglemont,  in 
La  Femme  de  trente  Ans: 

"  Madame  d'Aiglemont's  dress  harmonized  with  the 
thought  that  dominated  her  person.  Her  hair  was  gath- 
ered up  into  a  tall  coronet  of  broad  plaits,  without  orna- 
ment of  any  kind,  for  she  seemed  to  have  bidden  farewell 
forever  to  elaborate  toilets.  Nor  were  any  of  the  small 
arts  of  coquetry  which  spoil  so  many  women  to  be  de-  ' 
tected  in  her.  Only  her  bodice,  modest  though  it  was, 
did  not  altogether  conceal  the  dainty  grace  of  her  figure. 
Then,  too,  the  luxury  of  her  long  gown  consisted  in  an 
extremely  distinguished  cut;  and  if  it  is  permissible  to 
look  for  expression  in  the  arrangement  of  materials,  surely 
the  numerous  straight  folds  of  her  dress  invested  her  with 
a  great  dignity.  Moreover,  there  may  have  been  some 
lingering  trace  of  the  indelible  feminine  foible  in  the 
minute  care  bestowed  upon  her  hand  and  foot ;  yet,  if  she 
allowed  them  to  be  seen  with  some  pleasure,  it  would  have 
tasked  the  utmost  malice  of  a  rival  to  discover  any  af- 
fectation in  her  gestures,  so  natural  did  they  seem,  so 
much  a  part  of  old  childish  habit,  that  her  careless  grace 
absolves  this  vestige  of  vanity.  All  these  little  charac- 
teristics, the  nameless  trifles  which  combine  to  make  up 
17  Madame  Ancelot,  Les  Salons  de  Paris,  pp.  95,  96. 


96     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

the  sum  of  a  woman's  beauty  or  ugliness,  her  charm  or 
lack  of  charm,  can  not  be  indicated,  especially  when  the 
soul  is  the  bond  of  all  the  details  and  imprints  on  them 
a  delightful  unity.  Her  manner  was  in  perfect  accord 
with  her  figure  and  her  dress.  Only  to  certain  women 
at  a  certain  age  is  it  given  to  put  language  into  their 
attitude.  Is  it  sorrow,  is  it  happiness  that  gives  to  the 
woman  of  thirty,  to  the  happy  or  unhappy  woman,  the 
secret  of  this  eloquence  of  carriage?  This  will  always  be 
an  enigma  which  each  interprets  by  the  aid  of  his  hopes, 
desires,  or  theories.  The  way  in  which  she  leaned  both 
elbows  on  the  arm  of  her  chair,  the  toying  of  her  inter- 
clasped  fingers,  the  curve  of  her  throat,  the  freedom  of 
her  languid  but  lithesome  body  which  reclined  in  graceful 
exhaustion,  the  unconstraint  of  her  limbs,  the  carelessness 
of  her  pose,  the  utter  lassitude  of  her  movements,  all  re- 
vealed a  woman  without  interest  in  life.  .  .  ." 

Balzac's  parents  having  moved  from  Villeparisis  to  Ver- 
sailles, he  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
Duchess  while  visiting  them,  as  she  was  living  at  that  time 
in  the  Grande-Rue  de  Montreuil  No.  65,  in  a  pavilion 
which  she  called  her  ermitage.  In  La  Femme  de  trente 
Ans,  Balzac  has  described  her  retreat  as  a  country  house 
between  the  church  and  the  barrier  of  Montreuil,  on  the 
road  which  leads  to  the  Avenue  de  Saint-Cloud.  This 
house,  built  originally  for  the  short-lived  loves  of  some 
great  lord,  was  situated  so  that  the  owner  could  enjoy  all 
the  pleasures  of  solitude  with  the  city  almost  at  his  gates. 

Soon  after  their  meeting,18  a  sympathetic  friendship 

18  For  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  dates,  see  Memoir  and  Letters 
of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  48,  Gabriel  Ferry,  Balzac  et  ses  Amies,  p.  47,  Jos- 
eph Turquan,  La  Generate  Junot,  Duchesse  d'Abrantes,  p.  342,  378. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  97 

was  formed  between  the  two  writers;  they  had  the 
same  literary  aspirations,  the  same  love  for  work,  the  same 
love  of  luxury  and  extravagant  tastes,  the  same  struggles 
with  poverty  and  the  same  trials  and  disappointments. 

Since  Balzac  was  attracted  to  beautiful  names  as  well  as 
to  beautiful  women,  that  of  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes  ap- 
pealed to  him,  independently  of  the  wealth  of  history  it  re- 
called. He  was  happy  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  one 
who  could  give  him  precise  information  of  the  details  of 
the  Directoire  and  of  the  Empire,  an  instruction  begun 
by  the  commere  Gay.  Thus  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes  was 
to  exercise  over  him,  though  in  a  less  degree,  the  same  in- 
fluence for  the  comprehension  of  the  Imperial  world  that 
Madam  de  Berny  did  for  the  Royalist  world,  just  as  the 
Duchesse  de  Castries  later  was  to  initiate  him  into  the 
society  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain. 

Madame  d'Abrantes,  pleased  as  she  was  to  meet  literary 
people,  welcomed  most  cordially  the  young  author  who 
came  to  her  seeking  stories  of  the  Corsican.  Owing  to 
financial  difficulties  she  was  leading  a  rather  retired  and 
melancholy  life,  and  the  brilliant  and  colorful  language  of 
Balzac,  fifteen  years  her  junior,  aroused  her  heart  from  its 
torpor,  and  her  friendship  for  him  took  a  peculiar  tinge  of 
sentiment  which  she  allowed  to  increase.  It  had  been 
many  years  since  she  had  been  thus  moved,  and  this  new 
feeling,  which  came  to  her  as  she  saw  the  twilight  of  her 
days  approaching,  was  for  her  a  love  that  meant  youth  and 
life  itself. 

Hence  her  words  pierced  the  very  soul  of  Balzac  and 
kindled  an  enthusiasm  which  made  her  appear  to  him 
greater  than  she  really  was ;  she  literally  dazzled  and  sub- 


9 8     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

jugated  him.  Her  gaiety  and  animation  in  relating  inci- 
dents of  the  Imperial  court,  and  her  autumnal  sunshine, 
its  rays  still  glowing  with  warmth  as  well  as  brightness, 
compelled  Balzac  to  perceive  for  the  second  time  in  his  life 
the  insatiability  of  the  woman  who  has  passed  her  first 
youth  —  the  woman  of  thirty,  or  the  tender  woman  of 
forty.  The  fact  is,  however,  not  that  Balzac  created  la 
femme  sensible  de  quarante  ans,  as  is  stated  by  Philarete 
Chasles,  so  much  as  that  two  women  of  forty,  Madame  de 
Berny  and  Madame  d'Abrantes,  created  him. 

This  affection  savored  of  vanity  in  both;  she  was  proud 
that  at  her  years  she  could  inspire  love  in  a  man  so  much 
younger  than  herself,  while  Balzac,  whose  affection  was 
more  of  the  head  than  of  the  heart,  was  flattered  —  it  must 
be  confessed  —  in  having  made  the  conquest  of  a  duchess. 
Concealing  her  wrinkles  and  troubles  under  an  adorable 
smile,  no  woman  was  better  adapted  than  she  to  under- 
stand "  the  man  who  bathed  in  a  marble  tub,  had  no 
chairs  on  which  to  sit  or  to  seat  his  friends,  and  who 
built  at  Meudon  a  very  beautiful  house  without  a  flight  of 
stairs."  19 

But  the  love  on  Balzac's  side  must  have  been  rather  fleet- 
ing, for  many  years  later,  on  March  17,  1850,  he  wrote  to 
his  old  friend,  Madame  Carraud,  announcing  his  marriage 
with  Madame  Hanska :  "  Three  days  ago  I  married  the 
only  woman  I  have  ever  loved."  Evidently  he  had  for- 
gotten, among  others,  the  poor  Duchess,  who  had  passed 
away  twelve  years  before. 

But  how  could  Balzac  remain  long  her  ardent  lover, 

19  Philarete    Chasles,    M'emoires,   v.    I,    p.    307.     This   house,    Les 
Jar  dies,  was  at  Ville-d'Avray  and  not  at  Meudon. 


99 

when  Madame  de  Berny,  of  whom  Madame  d'Abrantes 
was  jealous,  felt  that  he  was  leaving  her  for  a  duchess? 
And  how  could  he  remain  more  than  a  friend  to  Madame 
Junot,  when  the  beautiful  Duchesse  de  Castries  was  for  a 
short  time  complete  mistress  of  his  heart,20  and  was  in  her 
turn  to  be  replaced  by  Madame  Hanska?  The  Duchess 
could  probably  understand  his  inconstancy,  for  she  not 
only  knew  of  his  attachment  to  Madame  de  Castries  but  he 
wrote  her  on  his  return  from  his  first  visit  to  Madame 
Hanska  at  Neufchatel,  describing  the  journey  and  saying 
that  the  Val  de  Travers  seemed  made  for  two  lovers. 

Knowing  Balzac's  complicated  life,  one  can  under- 
stand how,  having  gone  to  Corsica  in  quest  of  his  Eldo- 
rado just  before  the  poor  Duchess  breathed  her  last,  he 
could  write  to  Madame  Hanska  on  his  return  to  Paris: 
"  The  newspapers  have  told  you  of  the  deplorable  end  of 
the  poor  Duchesse  d'Abrantes.  She  has  ended  like  the 
Empire.  Some  day  I  will  explain  her  to  you, —  some 
good  evening  at  Wierzschownia." 

Balzac  wished  to  keep  his  visits  to  Madame  d'Abrantes 
a  secret  from  his  sister,  Madame  Surville,  and  some  ob- 
scurity and  a  "  mysterious  pavilion  "  is  connected  with 
their  manner  of  communication.  For  a  while  she  visited 
him  frequently  in  his  den.  He  enjoyed  her  society,  and 
though  oppressed  by  work,  was  quite  ready  to  fix  upon  an 
evening  when  they  could  be  alone. 

It  was  not  without  pain  that  she  saw  his  affection  for 

20  It  is  an  interesting  coincidence  that  the  Duchess  whose  star  was 
waning  had  been  in  love  with  the  fascinating  Austrian  ambassador, 
Comte  de  Metternich,  and  the  Duchess  who  was  to  take  her  place, 
was  just  recovering  from  an  amorous  disappointment  in  connection 
with  his  son  when  she  met  Balzac. 


ioo     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

her  becoming  less  ardent  while  hers  remained  fervent. 
She  wrote  him  tender  letters  inviting  him  to  dine  with  her, 
or  to  meet  some  of  her  friends,  assuring  him  that  in  her 
ermitage  he  might  feel  perfectly  at  home,  and  that  she  re- 
garded him  as  one  of  the  most  excellent  friends  Heaven 
had  preserved  for  her. 

"  Heaven  grant  that  you  are  telling  me  the  truth,  and 
that  indeed  I  may  always  be  for  you  a  good  and  sincere 
friend.  .  .  .  My  dear  Honore,  every  one  tells  me  that 
you  no  longer  care  for  me.  ...  I  say  that  they  lie.  .  .  . 
You  are  not  only  my  friend,  but  my  sincere  and  good 
friend.  I  have  kept  for  you  a  profound  affection,  and  this 
affection  is  of  a  nature  that  does  not  change.  .  .  .  Here 
is  Catherine,  here  is  my  first  work.  I  am  sending  it  to 
you,  and  it  is  the  heart  of  a  friend  that  offers  it  to  you. 
May  it  be  the  heart  of  a  friend  that  receives  it !  ...  My 
soul  is  oppressed  on  account  of  this,  but  it  is  false,  I 
hope."  21 

Balzac  continued  to  visit  her  occasionally,  and  there  ex- 
ists a  curious  specimen  of  his  handwriting  written  (Octo- 
ber, 1835)  in  the  album  of  her  daughter,  Madame  Aubert. 
He  sympathized  with  the  unfortunate  Duchess  who,  raised 
to  so  high  a  rank,  had  fallen  so  low,  and  tried  to  cheer  her 
in  his  letters : 

"  You  say  you  are  ill  and  suffering,  and  without  any 
hope  that  finer  weather  will  do  you  any  good.  Remember 
that  for  the  soul  there  arises  every  day  a  fresh  spring- 
time and  a  beautiful  fresh  morning.  Your  past  life  has 

21  Collection  de  M.  le  Vicomte  de  Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  quoted 
by  Joseph  Turquan,  op.  cit.,  pp.  392,  393,  412,  413. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  101 

no  words  to  express  it  in  any  language,  but  it  is  scarcely 
a  recollection,  and  you  cannot  judge  what  your  future 
life  will  be  by  that  which  is  past.  How  many  have  begun 
to  lead  a  fresh,  lovely,  and  peaceful  life  at  a  much  more 
advanced  age  than  yours!  We  exist  only  in  our  souls. 
You  cannot  be  sure  that  your  soul  has  come  to  its  highest 
development,  nor  whether  you  receive  the  breath  of  life 
through  all  your  pores,  nor  whether  as  yet  you  see  with 
.all  your  eyes."22 

Being  quite  a  linguist,  Madame  d'Abrantes  began  her 
literary  career  by  translations  from  the  Portuguese,  Span- 
ish and  Italian,  and  by  writing  novels,  in  the  construction 
of  which,  Balzac  advised  her.  As  she  had  no  business 
ability,  he  was  of  great  assistance  to  her  also  in  arranging 
for  the  publication  of  her  work : 

"  In  the  name  of  yourself,  I  entreat  you,  do  not  enter 
into  any  engagement  with  anybody  whatsoever;  do  not 
make  any  promise,  and  say  that  you  have  entrusted  your 
business  to  me  on  account  of  my  knowledge  of  business 
matters  of  this  kind,  and  of  my  unalterable  attachment  to 
yourself  personally.  I  believe  I  have  found  what  I  may 
call  living  money,  seventy  thousand  healthy  francs,  and 
some  people,  who  will  jump  out  of  themselves,  to  dispose 
in  a  short  time  of  '  three  thousand  d'Abrantes,'  as  they 
say  in  their  slang.  Besides,  I  see  daylight  for  a  third  and 
larger  edition.  If  Mamifere  (Mame)  does  not  behave 
well,  say  to  him,  '  My  dear  sir,  M.  de  Balzac  has  my  busi- 
ness in  his  charge  still,  as  he  had  on  the  day  he  presented 
you  to  me;  you  must  feel  he  has  the  priority  over  the 
preference  you  ask  for.'  This  done,  wait  for  me.  I  shall 
make  you  laugh  when  I  tell  you  what  I  have  concocted. 

22  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  pp.  234,  235.    1831. 


io2      WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

If  Everat  appears  again,  tell  him  that  I  have  been  your 
attorney  for  a  long  time  past  in  these  affairs,  when  they 
are  worth  the  trouble;  one  or  two  volumes  are  nothing. 
But  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  francs,  oh !  oh !  ah !  ah ! 
things  must  not  be  endangered.  Only  manoeuver  cleverly, 
and,  with  that  finesse  which  distinguishes  Madame  the 
Ambassadress,  endeavor  to  find  out  from  Mame  how  many 
volumes  he  still  has  on  hand,  and  see  if  he  will  be  able  to 
oppose  the  new  edition  by  slackness  of  sale  or  excessive 
price. 

"  Your  entirely  devoted."  23 

(H.  DE  BALZAC.) 

Such  assistance  was  naturally  much  appreciated  by  a 
woman  so  utterly  ignorant  of  business  matters.  But  if 
Balzac  aided  the  Duchess,  he  caused  her  publishers  much 
annoyance,  and  more  than  once  he  received  a  sharp  letter 
rebuking  him  for  interfering  with  the  affairs  of  Madame 
d'Abrantes. 

It  was  doubtless  due  to  the  suggestion  of  Balzac  that 
Madame  d'Abrantes  wrote  her  Memoires.  He  was  so 
thrilled  by  her  vivid  accounts  of  recent  history,  that  he 
was  seized  with  the  idea  that  she  had  it  in  her  power  to 
do  for  a  brilliant  epoch  what  Madame  Roland  attempted 
to  do  for  one  of  grief  and  glory.  He  felt  that  she  had 
witnessed  such  an  extraordinary  multiplicity  of  scenes, 
had  known  a  remarkable  number  of  heroic  figures  and 
great  characters,  and  that  nature  had  endowed  her  with 
unusual  gifts. 

A  few  years  before  her  death,  La  Femme  abandonnee 
was  dedicated: 
«3  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  pp.  408,  409.    1834. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  103 

"  To  her  Grace  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes, 
"  from  her  devoted  servant, 

"  HONORE  DE  BALZAC." 

If  such  was  the  role  played  by  Balzac  in  the  life  of 
Madame  d'Abrantes,  how  is  she  reflected  in  the  Comedie 
humaine? 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  Balzac  not  only  borrowed 
names  from  living  people,  but  that  he  portrayed  the  fea- 
tures, incidents  and  peculiarities  of  those  with  whom  he 
was  closely  associated.  In  the  Avant-propos  de  la  Come- 
die humaine,  he  writes :  "  In  composing  types  by  put- 
ting together  traits  of  homogeneous  natures,  I  might  per- 
haps attain  to  the  writing  of  that  history  forgotten  by  so 
many  historians, —  the  history  of  manners." 

In  fact,  he  too  might  have  said :  "  I  take  my  property 
wherever  I  find  it;  "  accordingly  one  would  naturally  look 
for  characteristics  of  Madame  d'Abrantes  in  his  earlier 
works. 

According  to  M.  Joseph  Turquain,  Mademoiselle  des 
Touches  in  Beatrix,  generally  understood  to  be  George 
Sand,  has  also  some  of  the  characteristics  of  Madame 
d'Abrantes.  Balzac  describes  Mademoiselle  des  Touches 
as  being  past  forty  and  un  peu  homme,  which  reminds  one 
that  the  Countess  Dash  describes  Madame  d'Abrantes  as 
being  rather  masculine,  with  an  organe  de  rogome,  and  a 
virago  when  past  forty.  Calyste  became  enamored  of 
Beatrix  after  having  loved  Mademoiselle  des  Touches, 
while  Balzac  became  infatuated  with  Madame  de  Castries 
after  having  been  in  love  with  Madame  d'Abrantes,  in  each 
case,  the  blonde  after  the  brunette. 


104     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Mademoiselle  Josephine,  the  elder  and  beloved  daughter 
of  Madame  d'Abrantes,  entered  the  Convent  of  the  Sis- 
ters of  Charity  of  Saint-Vincent  de  Paul,  contrary  to  the 
desires  of  her  mother.  In  writing  to  the  Duchess  ( 183 1 ) , 
Balzac  asks  that  Sister  Josephine  may  not  forget  him  in 
her  prayers,  for  he  is  remembering  her  in  his  books.  Bal- 
zac may  have  had  her  in  mind  a  few  years  later  when  he 
said  of  Mademoiselle  de  Mortsauf  in  Le  Lys  dans  la  Val- 
lee:  "  The  girl's  clear  sight  had,  though  only  of  late,  seen 
to  the  bottom  of  her  mother's  heart,  .  .  ."  for  Made- 
moiselle Josephine  entered  the  convent  for  various  rea- 
sons, one  being  in  order  to  relieve  the  financial  strain  and 
make  marriage  possible  for  her  younger  sister,  another 
perhaps  being  to  atone  for  the  secret  she  probably  sus- 
pected in  the  heart  of  her  mother,  and  which  she  felt  was 
not  complimentary  to  the  memory  of  her  father.  And 
also,  in  La  Recherche  de  I'Absolu:  "  There  comes  a  mo- 
ment, in  the  inner  life  of  families,  when  the  children  be- 
come, either  voluntarily  or  involuntarily,  the  judges  of 
their  parents." 

In  writing  the  introduction  to  the  Physiologie  du  Mar- 
iage,  Balzac  states  that  here  he  is  merely  the  humble  secre- 
tary of  two  women.  He  is  doubtless  referring  to  Ma- 
dame d'Abrantes  as  one  of  the  two  when  he  says : 

"  Some  days  later  the  author  found  himself  in  the  com- 
pany of  two  ladies.  The  first  had  been  one  of  the  most 
humane  and  most  intellectual  women  of  the  court  of 
Napoleon.  Having  attained  a  high  social  position,  the 
Restoration  surprised  her  and  caused  her  downfall;  she 
had  become  a  hermit.  The  other,  young,  beautiful,  was 
playing  at  that  time,  in  Paris,  the  role  of  a  fashionable 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  105 

woman.  They  were  friends,  for  the  one  being  forty  years 
of  age,  and  the  other  twenty-two,  their  aspirations  rarely 
caused  their  vanity  to  appear  on  the  same  scene.  '  Have 
you  noticed,  my  dear,  that  in  general  women  love  only 
fools  ?  ' — '  What  are  you  saying,  Duchess f '  "  2* 

In  La  Femme  abandonnee,  Madame  de  Beauseant  re- 
sembles the  Duchess  as  portrayed  in  this  description : 

"All  the  courage  of  her  house  seemed  to  gleam  from 
the  great  lady's  brilliant  eyes,  such  courage  as  women  use 
to  repel  audacity  or  scorn,  for  they  were  full  of  tender- 
ness and  gentleness.  The  outline  of  that  little  head,  .  .  . 
the  delicate,  fine  features,  the  subtle  curves  of  the  lips, 
the  mobile  face  itself,  wore  an  expression  of  delicate  dis- 
cretion, a  faint  semblance  of  irony  suggestive  of  craft  and 
insolence.  It  would  have  been  difficult  to  refuse  forgive- 
ness to  those  two  feminine  failings  in  her  in  thinking  of 
her  misfortunes,  of  the  passion  that  had  almost  cost  her 
her  life.  Was  it  not  an  imposing  spectacle  (still  further 
magnified  by  reflection)  to  see  in  that  vast,  silent  salon 
this  woman,  separated  from  the  entire  world,  who  for 
three  years  had  lived  in  the  depths  of  a  little  valley,  far 
from  the  city,  alone  with  her  memories  of  a  brilliant, 
happy,  ardent  youth,  once  so  filled  with  fetes  and  constant 
homage,  now  given  over  to  the  horrors  of  nothingness? 
The  smile  of  this  woman  proclaimed  a  high  sense  of  her 
own  value." 

In  the  postscript  to  the  Physiologic  du  Manage,  Balzac 

24  M.  Turquan  states  that  Madame  Hamelin  is  one  of  these  women 
and  that  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes  is  incontestably  the  other.  For  a 
different  opinion,  see  the  chapter  on  Madame  Gay.  The  italics  are 
the  present  writer's. 


106    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

mentions  a  gesture  of  one  of  these  "  intellectual  "  women, 
who  interrupts  herself  to  touch  one  of  her  nostrils  with  the 
forefinger  of  her  right  hand  in  a  coquettish  manner.  In 
La  Femme  abandonnce,  Madame  de  Beauseant  has  the 
same  gesture.  Another  gesture  of  Madame  de  Beauseant 
in  La  Femme  abandonnce  indicates  that  Balzac  had  in 
mind  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes:  ".  .  .  Then,  with  her 
other  hand,  she  made  a  gesture  as  if  to  pull  the  bell-rope. 
The  charming  gesture,  the  gracious  threat,  no  doubt,  called 
up  some  sad  thought,  some  memory  of  her  happy  life,  of 
the  time  when  she  could  be  wholly  charming  and  graceful, 
when  the  gladness  of  her  heart  justified  every  caprice,  and 
gave  one  more  charm  to  her  slightest  movement.  The 
lines  of  her  forehead  gathered  between  her  brows,  and  the 
expression  of  her  face  grew  dark  in  the  soft  candle-light. 
.  .  ."  The  Duchesse  d'Abrantes  had  on  two  occasions 
rung  to  dismiss  her  lovers,  M.  de  Montrond  and  General 
Sebastiani.  Balzac  had  doubtless  heard  her  relate  these 
incidents,  and  they  are  contained  in  the  Journal  intime, 
which  she  gave  him.23 

In  La  Femme  abandonnee,  Balzac  describes  Madame  de 
Beauseant  as  having  taken  refuge  in  Normandy,  "  after  a 
notoriety  which  women  for  the  most  part  envy  and  con- 
demn, especially  when  youth  and  beauty  in  some  way  ex- 
cuse the  transgression."  Can  it  be  that  the  novelist  thus 
condones  the  fault  of  this  noted  character  because  he 
wishes  to  pardon  the  liaison  of  Madame  d'Abrantes  with 
the  Comte  de  Metternich  ? 

25  Madame  d'Abrantes  presented  several  objects  of  a  literary  na- 
ture to  Balzac,  among  others,  a  book  of  Jean-Jacques  Rousseau,  a 
few  leaves  of  which  he  presented  to  Madame  Hanska  for  her  collec- 
tion of  autographs. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  107 

Is  it  then  because  so  many  traces  of  Madame  d'Abrantes 
are  found  in  La  Femme  abandonnee,  and  allusions  are 
made  to  minute  episodes  known  to  them  alone,  that  he  ded- 
icated it  to  her  ? 

Was  Balzac  thinking  of  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes  when, 
in  Un  Grand  Homme  de  Province  a  Paris,  speaking  of 
Lucien  Chardon,  who  had  just  arrived  in  Paris  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Restoration,  he  writes:  "  He  met  several 
of  those  women  who  will  be  spoken  of  in  the  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  whose  wit,  beauty  and  loves  will  be 
none  the  less  celebrated  than  those  of  queens  in  times 
past." 

In  depicting  Maxime  de  Trailles,  the  novelist  perhaps 
had  in  mind  M.  de  Montrond,  about  whom  the  Duchess 
had  told  him.  Again,  many  characteristics  of  her  son, 
Napoleon  d'Abrantes,  are  seen  in  La  Palferine,  one  of  the 
characters  of  the  Comedie  humaine. 

If  Madame  de  Berny  is  Madame  de  Mortsauf  in  Le  Lys 
dans  la  Vallee,  Madame  d'Abrantes  has  some  traits  of 
Lady  Dudley,  of  whom  Madame  de  Mortsauf  was  jeal- 
ous. The  Duchess  gave  him  encouragement  and  confi- 
dence, and  Balzac  might  have  been  thinking  of  her  when 
he  made  the  beautiful  Lady  Dudley  say:  "  I  alone  have 
divined  all  that  you  were  worth."  After  Balzac's  affec- 
tion for  Madame  de  Berny  was  rekindled,  Madame 
d'Abrantes,  who  was  jealous  of  her,  had  a  falling  out 
with  him. 

It  was  probably  Madame  Junot  who  related  to  Balzac 
the  story  of  a  necklace  of  Madame  Regnault  de  Saint- 
Jean  d'Angely,  to  which  allusion  is  made  in  his  Physiologic 
du  Manage,  also  an  anecdote  which  is  told  in  the  same 


io8     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

book  about  General  Rapp,  who  had  been  an  intimate  friend 
of  General  Junot.  At  this  time  Balzac  knew  few  women 
of  the  Empire ;  he  did  not  frequent  the  home  of  the  Count- 
ess Merlin  until  later.  While  Madame  d'Abrantes  was 
not  a  duchess  by  birth,  Madame  Gay  was  not  a  duchess 
at  all,  and  Madame  Hamelin  still  further  removed  from 
nobility. 

It  is  doubtless  to  Madame  d'Abrantes  that  he  owes  the 
subject  of  El  Verdugo,  which  he  places  in  the  period  of 
the  war  with  Spain;  to  her  also  was  due  the  information 
about  the  capture  of  Senator  Clement  de  Ris,  from  which 
he  writes  Une  tenebreuse  Affaire. 

M.  Rene  Martineau,  in  proving  that  Balzac  got  his 
ideas  for  Une  tenebreuse  Affaire  from  Madame  d'Abran- 
tes, states  that  this  is  all  the  more  remarkable,  since  the 
personage  of  the  senator  is  the  only  one  which  Balzac  has 
kept  just  as  he  was,  without  changing  his  physiognomy  in 
the  novel.  The  senator  was  still  living  at  the  time  Ma- 
dame d'Abrantes  wrote  her  account  of  the  affair,  his  death 
not  having  occurred  until  1827.  In  her  Memoir es, 
Madame  d'Abrantes  refers  frequently  to  the  kindness  of 
the  great  Emperor,  and  it  is  doubtless  to  please  her  that 
Balzac,  in  the  denouement  of  Une  tenebreuse  Affaire,  has 
Napoleon  pardon  two  out  of  the  three  condemned  persons. 
Although  the  novelist  may  have  heard  of  this  affair  dur- 
ing his  sojourns  in  Touraine,  it  is  evident  that  the  origin 
of  the  lawsuit  and  the  causes  of  the  conduct  of  Fouche 
were  revealed  to  him  by  Madame  Junot. 

Who  better  than  Madame  d'Abrantes  could  have  given 
Balzac  the  background  for  the  scene  of  Corsican  hatred 
so  vividly  portrayed  in  La  Vendetta  f  Balzac's  preference 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  109 

for  General  Junot  is  noticeable  when  he  wishes  to  mention 
some  hero  of  the  army  of  the  Republic  or  of  the  Empire; 
the  Due  and  Duchesse  d'Abrantes  are  included  among  the 
noted  lodgers  in  Autre  Etude  de  Femme.  It  was  doubt- 
less to  please  the  Duchess  that  Balzac  mentions  also  the 
Comte  de  Narbonne  (Le  Medecin  de  Campagne}. 

Impregnating  his  mind  with  the  details  of  the  Napo- 
leonic reign,  so  vividly  portrayed  in  Le  Colonel  Chabert, 
Le  Medecin  de  Campagne,  La  Femme  de  trente  Ans  and 
others,  she  was  probably  the  direct  author  of  several  ob- 
servations regarding  Napoleon  that  impress  one  as  being 
strikingly  true.  Balzac  read  to  her  his  stories  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  though  she  rarely  wept,  she  melted  into  tears  at 
the  disaster  of  the  Beresina,  in  the  life  of  Napoleon  re- 
lated by  a  soldier  in  a  barn. 

The  Generale  Junot  had  a  great  influence  over  Balzac ; 
she  enlightened  him  also  about  women,  painting  them  not 
as  they  should  be,  but  as  they  are.26 

During  the  last  years  of  the  life  of  Madame  d'Abrantes, 
a  somber  tint  spread  over  her  gatherings,  which  gradually 
became  less  numerous.  Her  financial  condition  excited 
little  sympathy,  and  her  friends  became  estranged  from 
her  as  the  result  of  her  poverty.  Under  her  gaiety  and 
in  spite  of  her  courage,  this  distress  became  more  ap- 
parent with  time.  Her  health  became  impaired;  yet  she 
continued  to  write  when  unable  to  sit  up,  so  great  was  her 

26  M.  Joseph  Turquan,  op.  cit.,  states  that  when  the  correspond- 
ence of  Madame  d'Abrantes  and  Balzac,  to  which  he  has  had  access, 
is  published,  one  will  be  able  to  determine  exactly  the  role  she  has 
played  in  the  formation  of  the  talent  of  the  writer,  and  in  the  de- 
velopment of  his  character.  His  admirable  work  has  been  very  help- 
ful in  the  preparation  of  this  study  of  Madame  d'Abrantes. 


no     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

need  for  money.  From  her  high  rank  she  had  fallen  to 
the  depth  of  misery!  When  evicted  from  her  poverty- 
stricken  home  by  the  bailiff,  her  maid  at  first  con- 
veyed her  to  a  hospital  in  the  rue  de  Chaillot,  but  there 
payment  was  demanded  in  advance.  That  being  impos- 
sible, the  poor  Duchess,  ill  and  abandoned  by  all  her 
friends,  was  again  cast  into  the  street.  Finally,  a  more 
'charitable  hospital  in  the  rue  des  Batailles  took  her  in. 
Thus,  by  ironical  fate,  the  widow  of  the  great  Batailleur 
de  Junot,  who  had  done  little  else  during  the  past  fifteen 
years  than  battle  for  life,  was  destined  to  end  her  days  in 
the  rue  des  Batailles. 

LA  PRINCESSE  BELGIOJOSO. MADAME  MARBOUTY. LA 

COMTESSE  D'AGOULT. —  GEORGE  SAND. 

"The  Princess  (Belgiojoso)  is  a  woman  much  apart 
from  other  women,  not  very  attractive,  twenty-nine  years 
old,  pale,  black  hair,  Italian-white  complexion,  thin,  and 
playing  the  vampire.  She  has  the  good  fortune  to  dis- 
please me,  though  she  is  clever;  but  she  poses  too  much. 
I  saw  her  first  five  years  ago  at  Gerard's ;  she  came  from 
Switzerland,  where  she  had  taken  refuge."  " 

The  Princess  Belgiojoso  had  her  early  education  en- 
trusted to  men  of  broad  learning  whose  political  views 
were  opposed  to  Austria.  She  was  reared  in  Milan  in  the 
home  of  her  young  step-father,  who  had  been  connected 
with  the  Ccnciliatore.  His  home  was  the  rendezvous  of 
the  artistic  and  literary  celebrities  of  the  day ;  but  beneath 
the  surface  lay  conspiracy.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  she  was 

27  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  457,  January  22,  1838. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  in 

married  to  her  fellow  townsman,  the  rich,  handsome, 
pleasure-loving,  musical  Prince  Belgiojoso,  but  the  union 
was  an  unhappy  one.  Extremely  patriotic,  she  plunged 
into  conspiracy. 

In  1831,  she  went  to  Paris,  opened  a  salon  and  mingled 
in  politics,  meeting  the  great  men  of  the  age,  many  of 
whom  fell  in  love  with  her.  Her  salon  was  filled  with 
people  famous  for  wit,  learning  and  beauty,  equaling  that 
of  Madame  Recamier;  Balzac  was  among  the  number. 
If  Madame  de  Girardin  was  the  Tenth  Muse,  the  Prin- 
cesse  Belgiojoso  was  the  Romantic  Muse.  She  was  al- 
most elected  president  of  Les  Academies  de  Femmes  en 
France  under  the  faction  led  by  George  Sand,  the  rival 
party  being  led  by  Madame  de  Girardin. 

Again  becoming  involved  in  Italian  politics,  and  exiled 
from  her  home  and  adopted  country,  she  went  to  the 
Orient  with  her  daughter  Maria,  partly  supporting  herself 
with  her  pen.  After  her  departure,  the  finding  of  the 
corpse  of  Stelzi  in  her  cupboard  caused  her  to  be  compared 
to  the  Spanish  Juana  Loca,  but  she  was  only  eccentric. 
While  in  the  Orient  she  was  stabbed  and  almost  lost  her 
life.  In  1853  she  returned  to  France,  then  to  Milan 
where  she  maintained  a  salon,  but  she  deteriorated  phys- 
ically and  mentally. 

For  almost  half  a  century  her  name  was  familiar  not 
alone  in  Italian  political  and  patriotic  circles,  but  through- 
out intellectual  Europe.  The  personality  of  this  strange 
woman  was  veiled  in  a  haze  of  mystery,  and  a  halo  of 
martyrdom  hung  over  her  head.  Notwithstanding  her 
eccentricities  and  exaggerations,  she  wielded  an  intel- 


ii2    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

lectual  fascination  in  her  time,  and  her  exalted  social  po- 
sition, her  beauty,  and  her  independence  of  character 
gave  to  her  a  place  of  conspicuous  prominence. 

As  to  whether  Balzac  always  sustained  an  indifferent 
attitude  towards  the  Princesse  Belgiojoso  there  is  some 
question,  but  he  always  expressed  a  feeling  of  nonchalance 
in  writing  about  her  to  Madame  Hanska.  He  regarded 
her  as  a  courtesan,  a  beautiful  Imperia,  but  of  the  ex- 
treme blue-stocking  type.  She  was  superficial  in  her 
criticism,  and  received  numbers  of  criticons  who  could 
not  write.  She  wrote  him  at  the  request  of  the  editor 
asking  him  to  contribute  a  story  for  the  Democratic  Pa- 
cifique. 

Balzac  visited  her  frequently,  calling  her  the  Princesse 
Bellejoyeuse,  and  she  rendered  him  many  services,  but 
he  probably  guarded  against  too  great  an  intimacy,  having 
witnessed  the  fate  of  Alfred  de  Musset.  He  was,  how- 
ever, greatly  impressed  by  her  beauty,  and  in  the  much 
discussed  letter  to  his  sister  Laure  he  speaks  of  Madame 
Hanska  as  a  masterpiece  of  beauty  who  could  be  com- 
pared only  to  the  Princesse  Bellejoyeuse,  only  infinitely 
more  beautiful.  Some  years  later,  however,  this  beauty 
had  changed  for  him  into  an  ugliness  that  was  even  re- 
pulsive. 

It  amused  the  novelist  very  much  to  have  people  think 
that  he  had  dedicated  to  the  Princesse  Belgiojoso  Modeste 
Mignon,  a  work  written  in  part  by  Madame  Hanska,  and 
dedicated  to  her.  In  the  first  edition  this  book  was  dedi- 
cated to  a  foreign  lady,  but  seeing  the  false  impression 
made  he  dedicated  it,  in  its  second  edition  to  a  Polish 
lady.  He  did,  however,  dedicate  Gaudissart  II  to : 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  113 

Madame  la  Princesse  de  Belgiojoso,  nee  Trivulce. 

Balzac  found  much  rest  and  recuperation  in  travel,  and 
in  going  to  Turin,  in  1836,  instead  of  traveling  alone,  he 
was  accompanied  by  a  most  charming  lady,  Madame 
Caroline  Marbouty.  She  had  literary  pretentions  and 
some  talent,  writing  under  the  pseudonym  of  Claire  Brune. 
Her  work  consisted  of  a  small  volume  of  poetry  and 
several  novels.  She  was  much  pleased  at  being  taken  fre- 
quently for  George  Sand,  whom  she  resembled  very 
much;  and  like  her,  she  dressed  as  a  man.  Balzac  took 
much  pleasure  in  intriguing  every  one  regarding  his 
charming  young  page,  whom  he  introduced  in  aristocratic 
Italian  society;  but  to  no  one  did  he  disclose  the  real 
name  or  sex  of  his  traveling  companion. 

On  his  return  from  Turin  he  wrote  to  Comte  Frederic 
Sclopis  de  Salerano  explaining  that  his  traveling  compan- 
ion was  by  no  means  the  person  whom  he  supposed. 
Knowing  his  chivalry,  Balzac  confided  to  the  Count  that  it 
was  a  charming,  clever,  virtuous  woman,  who  never  hav- 
ing had  the  opportunity  of  breathing  the  Italian  air  and 
being  able  to  escape  the  ennui  of  housekeeping  for  a  few 
weeks,  had  relied  upon  his  honor.  She  knew  whom  the 
novelist  loved,  and  found  in  that  the  greatest  of  guaran- 
tees. For  the  first  and  only  time  in  her  life  she  amused 
herself  by  playing  a  masculine  role,  and  on  her  return 
home  had  resumed  her  feminine  duties. 

During  this  journey  Madame  Marbouty  was  known  as 
Marcel,  this  being  the  name  of  the  devoted  servant  of 
Raoul  de  Nangis  in  Meyerbeer's  masterpiece,  Les  Hugue- 
nots, which  had  been  given  for  the  first  time  on  February 
29,  1836.  The  two  travelers  had  a  delightful  but  very 


i  i4     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

fatiguing  journey,  for  there  were  so  many  things  to  see 
that  they  even  took  time  from  their  sleep  to  enjoy  the 
beauties  of  Italy.  In  writing  to  Madame  Hanska  of  this 
trip,  he  spoke  of  having  for  companion  a  friend  of  Ma- 
dame Carraud  and  Jules  Sandeau. 

Madame  Marbouty  was  also  a  friend  of  Madame  Car- 
raud's  sister,  Madame  Nivet,  so  that  when  Balzac  visited 
Limoges  he  probably  called  on  his  former  traveling  com- 
panion. 

When  the  second  volume  of  the  Come  die  humaine  was 
published  (1842),  Balzac  remembered  this  episode  in  his 
life  and  dedicated  La  Grenadier e  to  his  traveling  com- 
panion : 

"  To  Caroline,  to  the  poetry  of  the  journey,  from  the 

grateful  traveler." 

In  explaining  this  dedication  to  Madame  Hanska,  Bal- 
zac states  that  the  poesie  du  voyage  was  merely  the  poetry 
of  it  and  nothing  more,  and  that  when  she  comes  to  Paris 
he  will  take  pleasure  in  showing  to  her  this  intimate  friend 
of  Madame  Carraud,  this  charming,  intellectual  woman 
whom  he  has  not  seen  since. 

Balzac  went  to  Madame  Marbouty's  home  to  read  to 
her  the  first  acts  of  L'Ecole  des  Menages,  which  she  liked ; 
a  few  days  later,  he  returned,  depressed  because  a  great 
lady  had  told  him  it  was  ennuyeux,  so  she  tried  to  cheer 
him.  Souvenirs  inedits,  dated  February,  1839,  left  by 
her,  and  a  letter  from  her  to  Balzac  dated  March  12,  1840, 
in  which  she  asks  him  to  give  her  a  ticket  to  the  first  per- 
formance of  his  play,28  show  that  they  were  on  excellent 

28  The  play  referred  to  is  doubtless  Vautrin,  played  for  the  first 
time  March  14,  1840. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  115 

terms  at  this  time.  But  later  a  coolness  arose,  and  in 
April,  1844,  Madame  Marbouty  wrote  Une  fausse  Posi- 
tion. The  personages  in  this  novel  are  portraits,  and 
Balzac  appears  under  the  name  of  Ulric.  This  explains 
why  the  dedication  of  La  Grenadiere  was  changed.  Some 
writers  seem  to  think  that  Madame  Marbouty  suggested 
to  Balzac  La  Muse  du  Departement,  a  Berrichon  blue- 
stocking. 

Among  the  women  in  the  Comedie  humaine  who  have 
been  identified  with  women  the  novelist  knew  in  the 
course  of  his  life,  Beatrix  (Beatrix),  depicting  the  life  of 
the  Comtesse  d'Agoult,  is  one  of  the  most  noted.  Balzac 
says  of  this  famous  character:  "Yes,  Beatrix  is  even 
too  much  Madame  d'Agoult.  George  Sand  is  at  the 
height  of  felicity;  she  takes  a  little  vengeance  on  her 
friend.  Except  for  a  few  variations,  the  story  is  true."  29 

Although  Balzac  wrote  Beatrix  with  the  information 
about  the  heroine  which  he  had  received  from  George 
Sand,  he  was  acquainted  with  Madame  d'Agoult.  De- 
scended from  the  Bethmanns  of  Hamburg  or  Frank- 
fort, she  was  a  native  of  Touraine,  and  played  the  role  of 
a  "  great  lady "  at  Paris.  She  became  a  journalist, 
formed  a  liaison  with  fimile  de  Girardin,  and  wrote  ex- 
tensively for  the  Presse  under  the  name  of  Daniel  Stern. 
She  had  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Princesse  Bel- 
giojoso;  she  abandoned  her  children.  Balzac  never  liked 
her,  and  described  her  as  a  dreadful  creature  of  whom 
Liszt  was  glad  to  be  rid.  She  made  advances  to  the 
novelist,  and  invited  him  to  her  home;  he  dined  there 

29  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  527,  February,  1840. 


n6     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

once  with  Ingres  and  once  with  Victor  Hugo,  but  he  did 
not  enjoy  her  hospitality.  Notwithstanding  the  aversion 
which  Balzac  had  for  her,  he  sent  her  autograph  to  Ma- 
dame Hanska,  and  met  her  at  various  places. 

Among  women  Balzac's  most  noted  literary  friend  was 
George  Sand,  whom  he  called  "  my  brother  George."  In 
1831  Madame  Dudevant,  having  attained  some  literary 
fame  by  the  publication  of  Indiana,  desired  to  meet  the 
author  of  La  Peau  de  Chagrin,  who  was  living  in  the  rue 
Cassini,  and  asked  a  mutual  friend  to  introduce  her.30 
After  she  had  expressed  her  admiration  for  the  talent 
of  the  young  author,  he  in  turn  complimented  her  on  her 
recent  work,  and  as  was  his  custom,  changed  the  con- 
versation to  talk  of  himself  and  his  plans.  She  found 
this  interview  helpful  and  he  promised  to  counsel  her. 
After  this  introduction  Balzac  visited  her  frequently.  He 
would  go  puffing  up  the  stairs  of  the  many-storied  house 
on  the  quai  Saint-Michel  where  she  lived.  The  avowed 
purpose  of  these  visits  was  to  advise  her  about  her  work, 
but  thinking  of  some  story  he  was  writing,  he  would  soon 
begin  to  talk  of  it. 

30  Different  statements  have  been  made  as  to  who  introduced 
George  Sand  to  Balzac.  In  her  Histoire  de  ma  Vie,  v.  9,  pp.  12,  13, 
George  Sand  merely  says  it  was  a  friend  (a  man).  Gabriel  Ferry, 
Balzac  et  ses  Amies,  p.  58,  makes  the  same  statement.  Seche  et  Ber- 
taut,  Balzac,  p.  61,  state  that  it  was  La  Touche  who  presented  her  to 
him,  but  Miss  K.  P.  Wormeley,  A  Memoir  of  Balzac,  p.  122,  and 
Mme.  Wladimir  Karenine,  George  Sand,  sa  Vie  et  ses  (Euvres,  v.  2, 
p.  446,  state  that  it  was  Jules  Sandeau  who  presented  her  to  him. 
Confirming  this  last  statement,  the  Princess  Radziwill  states  that  it 
was  Jules  Sandeau,  and  that  her  aunt,  Madame  Honore  de  Balzac, 
had  so  told  her. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  117 

They  seem  to  have  had  many  enjoyable  hours  with  each 
other.  She  relates  that  one  evening  when  she  and  some 
friends  had  been  dining  with  Balzac,  after  a  rather  pe- 
culiar dinner  he  put  on  with  childish  glee,  a  beautiful 
brand-new  robe  de  chambre  to  show  it  to  them,  and  pur- 
posed to  accompany  them  in  this  costume  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg, with  a  candlestick  in  his  hand.  It  was  late,  the 
place  was  deserted,  and  when  George  Sand  suggested  that 
in  returning  home  he  might  be  assassinated,  he  replied: 
"  Not  at  all !  If  I  meet  thieves  they  will  think  me  insane, 
and  will  be  afraid  of  me,  or  they  will  take  me  for  a  prince, 
and  will  respect  me."  It  was  a  beautiful  calm  night,  and 
he  accompanied  them  thus,  carrying  his  lighted  candle  in 
an  exquisite  carved  candlestick,  talking  of  his  four  Ara- 
bian horses  which  he  did  not  have  then,  which  he  would 
have  soon,  which  he  never  had  had,  but  which  he  firmly  be- 
lieved he  was  going  to  have.  He  would  have  conducted 
them  to  the  other  end  of  Paris,  if  they  had  permitted  him. 

Once  George  Sand  and  Balzac  had  a  discussion  about 
the  Contes  droletiques  during  which  she  said  he  was 
shocking,  and  he  retorted  that  she  was  a  prude,  and  de- 
parted, calling  to  her  on  the  stairway :  "  Vous  n'etes 
qu'une  bete!  "  31  But  they  were  only  better  friends  after 
this. 

Early  in  their  literary  career  Balzac  held  this  opinion 
of  her :  "  She  has  none  of  the  littleness  of  soul  nor  any 
of  the  base  jealousies  which  obscure  the  brightness  of  so 
much  contemporary  talent.  Dumas  resembles  her  in  this 
respect.  George  Sand  is  a  very  noble  friend,  and  I  would 
consult  her  with  full  confidence  in  my  moments  of  doubt 
31  George  Sand,  Histoire  de  ma  Vie,  v.  9,  p.  90. 


n8      WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

on  the  logical  course  to  pursue  in  such  or  such  a  situation ; 
but  I  think  she  lacks  the  instinct  of  criticism :  she  allows 
herself  to  be  too  easily  persuaded ;  she  does  not  understand 
the  art  of  refuting  the  arguments  of  her  adversary  nor  of 
justifying  herself."  32  He  summarized  their  differences 
by  telling  her  that  she  sought  man  as  he  ought  to  be,  but 
that  he  took  him  as  he  is. 

If  Madame  Hanska  was  not  jealous  of  George  Sand, 
she  was  at  least  interested  to  know  the  relations  existing 
between  her  and  Balzac,  for  we  find  him  explaining: 
"  Do  not  fear,  madame,  that  Zulma  Dudevant  will  ever 
see  me  attached  to  her  chariot.  ...  I  only  speak  of  this 
because  more  celebrity  is  fastened  on  that  woman  than  she 
deserves ;  which  is  preparing  for  her  a  bitter  autumn.  .  .  . 
Mon  Dieu!  how  is  it  that  with  such  a  splendid  forehead 
you  can  think  little  things!  I  do  not  understand  why, 
knowing  my  aversion  for  George  Sand,  you  make  me  out 
her  friend."  33  Since  Madame  Hanska  was  making  a 
collection  of  autographs  of  famous  people,  Balzac  prom- 
ised to  send  her  George  Sand's,  and  he  wished  also  to  se- 
cure one  of  Aurore  Dudevant,  so  that  she  might  have  her 
under  both  forms. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  at  various  times  Balzac 
compared  Madame  Hanska  to  George  Sand.  While  he 
thought  his  "  polar  star "  far  more  beautiful,  she  re- 
minded him  of  George  Sand  by  her  coiffure,  attitude  and 
intellect,  for  she  had  the  same  feminine  graces,  together 
with  the  same  force  of  mind. 

32  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  104. 

3aLettres  a  l'£trangcrc,  v.  i,  p.  196,  October  19,  1834,  p.  266,  July 
17,  1835- 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  119 

On  his  way  to  Sardinia,  Balzac  stopped  to  spend  a  few 
days  with  George  Sand  at  her  country  home  at  Nohant. 
He  found  his  "  comrade  George  "  in  her  dressing-gown, 
smoking  a  cigar  after  dinner  in  the  chimney-corner  of  an 
immense  solitary  chamber.  In  spite  of  her  dreadful 
troubles,  she  did  not  have  a  white  hair;  her  swarthy  skin 
had  not  deteriorated  and  her  beautiful  eyes  were  still 
dazzling.  She  had  been  at  Nohant  about  a  year,  very 
sad,  and  working  tremendously.  He  found  her  leading 
about  the  same  life  as  he;  she  retired  at  six  in  the  morning 
and  arose  at  noon,  while  he  retired  at  six  in  the  evening 
and  arose  at  midnight;  but  he  conformed  to  her  habits 
while  spending  these  three  days  at  her  chateau,  talking 
with  her  from  five  in  the  evening  till  five  the  next  morn- 
ing; after  this,  they  understood  each  other  better  than 
they  had  done  previously.  He  had  censured  her  for  de- 
serting Jules  Sandeau,  but  afterwards  had  the  deepest 
compassion  for  her,  as  he  too  had  found  him  to  be  a  most 
ungrateful  friend. 

Balzac  felt  that  Madame  Dudevant  was  not  lovable,  and 
would  always  be  difficult  to  love;  she  was  a  garqon,  an 
artist,  she  was  grand,  generous,  devoted,  chaste;  she  had 
the  traits  of  a  man, —  she  was  not  a  woman.  He  de- 
lighted in  discussing  social  questions  with  a  comrade  to 
whom  he  did  not  need  to  show  the  galanterie  'd'epiderme 
necessary  in  conversation  with  ordinary  women.  He 
thought  that  she  had  great  virtues  which  society  miscon- 
strued, and  that  after  hours  of  discussion  he  had  gained 
a  great  deal  in  making  her  recognize  the  necessity  of 
marriage.  In  discussing  with  him  the  great  questions  of 
marriage  and  liberty,  she  said  with  great  pride  that  they 


were  preparing  by  their  writings  a  revolution  in  manners 
and  morals,  and  that  she  was  none  the  less  struck  by  the 
objections  to  the  one  than  by  those  to  the  other. 

She  knew  just  what  he  thought  about  her;  she  had 
neither  force  of  conception,  nor  the  gift  of  constructing 
plots,  nor  faculty  of  reaching  the  true,  nor  the  art  of 
pathos,  but  —  without  knowing  the  French  language  — 
she  had  style.  Like  him,  she  took  her  glory  in  raillery, 
and  had  a  profound  contempt  for  the  public,  which  she 
called  Jumento.  Defending  her  past  life,  he  says  :  "  All 
the  follies  that  she  has  committed  are  titles  to  fame  in 
the  eyes  of  great  and  noble  souls.  She  was  duped  by  Ma- 
dame Dorval,  Bocage,  Lammennais,  etc.,  etc.  Through 
the  same  sentiment  she  is  now  the  dupe  of  Liszt  and  Ma- 
dame d'Agoult;  she  has  just  realized  it  for  this  couple 
as  for  la  Dorval,  for  she  has  one  of  those  minds  that  are 
powerful  in  the  study,  through  intellect,  but  extremely 
easy  to  entrap  on  the  domain  of  reality."  34 

During  this  week-end  visit,  Madame  Dudevant  related 
to  Balzac  the  story  of  Liszt  and  Madame  d'Agoult,  which 
he  reproduced  in  Beatrix,  since  in  her  position,  she  could 
not  do  so  herself.  In  the  same  book,  George  Sand  is 
portrayed  as  Mademoiselle  des  Touches,  with  the  com- 
plexion, pale  olive  by  day,  and  white  under  artificial  light, 
characteristic  of  Italian  beauty.  The  face,  rather  long 
than  oval,  resembles  that  of  some  beautiful  Isis.  Her 
hair,  black  and  thick,  falls  in  plaited  loops  over  her  neck, 
like  the  head-dress  with  rigid  double  locks  of  the  statues 
at  Memphis,  accentuating  very  finely  the  general  severity 
of  her  features.  She  has  a  full,  broad  forehead,  bright 

34  Lettres  &  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  464,  March  2,  1838. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  121 

with  its  smooth  surface  on  which  the  light  lingers,  and 
molded  like  that  of  a  hunting  Diana;  a  powerful,  wilful 
brow,  calm  and  still.  The  eyebrows,  strongly  arched, 
bend  over  the  eyes  in  which  the  fire  sparkles  now  and 
again  like  that  of  fixed  stars.  The  cheek-bones,  though 
softly  rounded,  are  more  prominent  than  in  most  women, 
and  confirm  the  impression  of  strength.  The  nose,  nar- 
row and  straight,  has  high-cut  nostrils,  and  the  mouth  is 
arched  at  the  corners.  Below  the  nose  the  lip  is  faintly 
shaded  by  a  down  that  is  wholly  charming;  nature  would 
have  blundered  if  she  had  not  placed  there  that  tender 
smoky  tinge. 

Balzac  admitted  that  this  was  the  portrait  of  Madame 
Dudevant,  saying  that  he  rarely  portrayed  his  friends, 
exceptions  being  G.  Planche  in  Claude  Vignon,  and  George 
Sand  in  Camille  Maupin  (Mademoiselle  des  Touches), 
both  with  their  consent.35 

Madame  Dudevant  was  an  excessive  smoker,  and  dur- 
ing Balzac's  visit  to  her,  she  had  him  smoke  a  hooka  and 
latakia  which  he  enjoyed  so  much  that  he  wrote  to  Ma- 
dame Hanska,  asking  her  to  get  him  a  hooka  in  Moscow, 
as  he  thought  she  lived  near  there,  and  it  was  there  or  in 
Constantinople  that  the  best  could  be  found;  he  wished 
her  also,  if  she  could  find  true  latakia  in  Moscow,  to  send 
him  five  or  six  pounds,  as  opportunities  were  rare  to  get 
it  from  Constantinople.  Later,  on  his  visit  to  Sardinia, 
he  wrote  her  from  Ajaccio  :  "  As  for  the  latakia,  I  have 
just  discovered  (laugh  at  me  for  a  whole  year)  that 

35  For  further  details  as  to  the  resemblance  of  Mademoiselle  des 
Touches  to  George  Sand,  see  Mme.  Karenine,  George  Sand,  sa  Vie  et 
ses  CEuvres,  v.  2,  pp.  369,  370. 


122     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Latakia  is  a  village  of  the  island  of  Cyprus,  a  stone's 
throw  from  here,  where  a  superior  tobacco  is  made,  named 
from  the  place,  and  that  I  can  get  it  here.  So  mark  out 
that  item."  36 

George  Sand  and  Balzac  discussed  their  work  freely  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  condemn  either  plot  or  character  of 
which  they  did  not  approve.  Some  of  Balzac's  women 
shocked  her,  but  she  liked  La  premiere  Demoiselle  (after- 
wards L'Ecole  des  Menages),  a  play  which  Madame 
Surville  found  superb,  but  which  Madame  Hanska  dis- 
couraged because  she  did  not  like  the  plot.  She  aided 
him  in  a  financial  manner  by  signing  one  of  his  stories, 
Voyage  d'un  Moineau  de  Paris.  At  that  time,  Balzac 
needed  money  and  Stahl  (Hetzel)  refused  to  insert  in  his 
book,  Scenes  de  la  Vie  privee  des  Animaux  (2  vols., 
1842),  this  story  of  Balzac's,  who  had  already  furnished 
several  articles  for  this  collection.  George  Sand  signed 
her  name,  and  in  this  way,  Balzac  obtained  the  money. 

36  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  pp.  464-471,  March,  April,  1838.  This 
contradicts  the  statement  of  S.  de  Lovenjoul,  Bookman,  v.  14,  p.  615, 
1902,  that  Balzac  had  a  horror  of  tobacco  and  is  known  to  have 
smoked  only  once,  when  a  cigar  given  him  by  Eugene  Sue  made  him 
very  ill.  He  evidently  had  this  excerpt  of  a  letter  in  mind :  "  I 
have  never  known  what  drunkenness  was,  except  from  a  cigar  which 
Eugene  Sue  made  me  smoke  against  my  will,  and  it  was  that  which 
enabled  me  to  paint  the  drunkenness  for  which  you  blame  me  in  the 
Voyage  a  Java.".  .Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  i,  p.  17,  March,  1833. 
This  visit  to  George  Sand  was  made  five  years  after  this  letter  was 
written.  Or  S.  de  Lovenjoul  might  have  had  in  mind  the  statement 
of  Theophile  Gautier  that  Balzac  could  not  endure  tobacco  in  any 
form ;  he  anathematized  the  pipe,  proscribed  the  cigar,  did  not  even 
tolerate  the  Spanish  papelito,  and  only  the  Asiatic  narghile  found 
grace  in  his  sight.  He  allowed  this  only  as  a  curious  trinket,  and  on 
account  of  its  local  color.  Portraits  Contemporains,  pp.  115,  116. 


LITERARY  FRIENDS  123 

Madame  Dudevant  not  only  remained  a  true  friend  to 
Balzac  in  a  literary  and  financial  sense,  but  was  glad  to 
defend  his  character,  and  was  firm  in  refuting  statements 
derogatory  to  him.  In  apologizing  to  him  for  an  article 
that  had  appeared  without  her  knowledge  in  the  Revue 
independent?,  edited  by  her,  she  asked  his  consent  to  write 
a  large  work  about  him.  He  tried  to  dissuade  her,  telling 
her  that  she  would  create  enemies  for  herself,  but,  after 
persistence  on  her  part,  he  asked  her  to  write  a  preface 
to  the  Comedie  humaine.  The  plan  of  the  work,  however, 
was  very  much  modified,  and  did  not  appear  until  after 
Balzac's  death. 

Balzac  dined  frequently  with  Madame  Dudevant,  and 
political  as  well  as  social  and  literary  questions  were  dis- 
cussed. He  enjoyed  opposing  her  views;  after  his  return 
from  his  prolonged  visit  to  Madame  Hanska  in  St.  Peters- 
burg (1843),  George  Sand  twitted  him  by  asking  him  to 
give  his  Impressions  de  Voyage. 

A  story  told  at  Issoudun  illustrates  further  the  genial 
association  of  the  two  authors :  Balzac  was  dining  one 
day  at  the  Hotel  de  la  Cloche  in  company  with  George 
Sand.  She  had  brought  her  physician,  who  was  to  ac- 
company her  to  Nohant.  The  conversation  turned  on  the 
subject  of  insane  people,  and  the  peculiar  manner  in 
which  the  exterior  signs  of  insanity  are  manifested.  The 
physician  claimed  to  be  an  expert  in  recognizing  an  insane 
person  at  first  sight.  George  Sand  asked  very  seriously : 
"  Do  you  see  any  here?  "  Balzac  was  eating,  as  always, 
ravenously,  and  his  tangled  hair  followed  the  movement 
of  his  head  and  arm.  "  There  is  one!  "  said  the  Doctor; 
"  no  doubt  about  it !  "  George  Sand  burst  out  laughing, 


i24     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Balzac  also,  and,  the  introduction  made,  the  confused 
physician  was  condemned  to  pay  for  the  dinner. 

Balzac  expresses  his  admiration  for  her  in  the  dedication 
of  the  Memoires  de  deux  jeunes  mariees: 

"  To  George  Sand. 

"  This  dedication,  dear  George,  can  add  nothing  to  the 
glory  of  your  name,  which  will  cast  its  magic  luster  on 
my  book;  but  in  making  it  there  is  neither  modesty  nor 
self-interest  on  my  part.  I  desire  to  bear  testimony  to 
the  true  friendship  between  us  which  continues  unchanged 
in  spite  of  travels  and  absence, —  in  spite,  too,  of  our  mu- 
tual hard  work  and  the  maliciousness  of  the  world.  This 
feeling  will  doubtless  never  change.  The  procession  of 
friendly  names  which  accompany  my  books  mingles  pleas- 
ure with  the  pain  their  great  number  causes  me,  for  they 
are  not  written  without  anxiety,  to  say  nothing  of  the  re- 
proach cast  upon  me  for  my  alarming  fecundity, —  as  if 
the  world  which  poses  before  me  were  not  more  fecund 
still.  Would  it  not  be  a  fine  thing,  George,  if  some  an- 
tiquary of  long  past  literatures  should  find  in  that  pro- 
cession none  but  great  names,  noble  hearts,  pure  and  sa- 
cred friendships, —  the  glories  of  this  century?  May  I 
not  show  myself  prouder  of  that  certain  happiness  than 
of  other  successes  which  are  always  uncertain?  To  one 
who  knows  you  well  it  must  ever  be  a  great  happiness  to 
be  allowed  to  call  himself,  as  I  do  here, 
"  Your  friend, 

"  DE  BALZAC." 


CHAPTER  IV 

BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS 

MADAME  BECHET  —  MADAME  WERDET 
"  Proprium  humani  ingenii,  odisse  quern  laeserit." * 

A  woman  with  whom  Balzac  was  to  have  business 
dealings  early  in  his  literary  career  was  Madame  Charles 
Bechet,  of  whom  he  said :  "  This  publisher  is  a  woman, 
a  widow  whom  I  have  never  seen,  and  whom  I  do  not 
know.  I  shall  not  send  off  this  letter  until  the  signatures 
are  appended  on  both  sides,  so  that  my  missive  may  carry 
you  good  news  about  my  interests ;  .  .  ."  2 

Thus  began  a  business  relation  which,  like  many  of 
Balzac's  financial  affairs,  was  to  end  unhappily.  At  first 
he  liked  her  very  much  and  dined  with  her,  meeting  in  her 
company  such  noted  literary  men  as  Beranger,  but  as 
usual,  he  delayed  completing  his  work,  meanwhile  re- 
sorting, in  mitigation  of  his  offense,  to  tactics  such  as 
the  following  words  will  indicate :  "...  a  pretty  watch 
given  at  the  right  moment  to  Madame  Bechet  may  win 
me  a  month's  freedom.  I  am  going  to  overwhelm  her 
with  gifts  to  get  peace."  3 

Balzac  often  caused  his  publishers  serious  annoyance 
by  re-writing  his  stories  frequently,  but  at  the  beginning 
of  this  business  relation  he  agreed  with  Madame  Bechet 

1  Tacitus  —  Agricola,    XLII. 

2  Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  I,  p.  51,  October  9,  1833. 
8  Lettres  a  I'Ztrangere,  v.  i,  p.  177,  August  I,  1834. 

125 


126     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

about  the  cost  of  corrections.  He  says  of  the  fair  pub- 
lisher :  "  The  widow  Bechet  has  been  sublime :  she  has 
taken  upon  herself  the  expense  of  more  than  four  thou- 
sand francs  of  corrections,  which  were  set  down  to  me. 
Is  this  not  still  pleasanter?  "  4 

But  this  could  not  last  long  for  she  became  financially 
embarrassed  and  then  had  to  be  very  strict  with  him.  She 
refused  to  advance  any  money  until  his  work  was  deliv- 
ered to  her  and  called  upon  him  to  pay  for  the  corrections. 
This  he  resented  greatly : 

"  Madame  Bechet  has  become  singularly  ill-natured  and 
will  hurt  my  interests  very  much.  In  paying  me,  she 
charges  me  with  corrections  which  amount  on  the  twelve 
volumes  to  three  thousand  francs,  and  also  for  my  copies, 
which  will  cost  me  fifteen  hundred  more.  Thus  four 
thousand  five  hundred  francs  and  my  discounts,  diminish 
by  six  thousand  the  thirty-three  thousand.  She  could  not 
lose  a  great  fortune  more  clumsily,  for  Werdet  estimates 
at  five  hundred  thousand  francs  the  profits  to  be  made  out 
of  the  next  edition  of  the  Etudes  de  Mceurs.  I  find  Wer- 
det the  active,  intelligent,  and  devoted  publisher  that  I 
want.  I  have  still  six  months  before  I  can  be  rid  of  Ma- 
dame Bechet;  for  I  have  three  volumes  to  do,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  count  on  less  than  two  months  to  each  vol- 
ume." 5 

She  evidently  relented,  for  he  wrote  later  that  Madame 
Bechet  had  paid  him  the  entire  thirty-three  thousand 
francs.  This,  however,  did  not  end  their  troubles,  and 

*  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  I,  p.  398,  1834.  Letter  to 
Madame  Surville. 

6  Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  I,  p.  242,  March  30,  1835. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     127 

he  longed  to  be  free  from  his  obligations,  and  to  sever  all 
connection  with  her. 

In  the  spring  of  1836,  Madame  Bechet  became  Madame 
Jacquillart.  Whether  she  was  influenced  by  her  husband 
or  had  become  weary  of  Balzac's  delays,  she  became 
firmer.  The  novelist  felt  that  she  was  too  exacting,  for 
he  was  working  sixteen  hours  a  day  to  complete  the  last 
two  volumes  for  her,  and  he  believed  that  the  suit  with 
which  she  threatened  him  was  prompted  by  his  enemies, 
who  seemed  to  have  sworn  his  ruin.  Madame  Bechet  lost 
but  little  time  in  carrying  out  her  threat,  for  a  few  days 
after  this  he  writes : 

"  Do  you  know  by  what  I  have  been  interrupted  ?  By 
a  legal  notice  from  Bechet,  who  summons  me  to  furnish 
her  within  twenty-four  hours  my  two  volumes  in  8vo, 
with  a  penalty  of  fifty  francs  for  every  day's  delay!  I 
must  be  a  great  criminal  and  God  wills  that  I  shall  ex- 
piate my  crimes !  Never  was  such  torture !  This  woman 
has  had  ten  volumes  8vo  out  of  me  in  two  years,  and  yet 
she  complains  at  not  getting  twelve !  "  6 

There  had  been  question  of  a  lawsuit  as  early  as  the 
autumn  of  1835  ;  to  avoid  this  he  was  then  trying  to  finish 
the  Fleur-des-Pois  (afterwards  Le  Contrat  de  Manage}. 
But  their  relations  were  more  cordial  at  that  time,  for  a 
short  time  later,  he  writes :  "  My  publisher,  the  sublime 
Madame  Bechet,  has  been  foolish  enough  to  send  the  cor- 
rected proofs  to  St.  Petersburg.  I  am  told  nothing  is 
spoken  of  there  but  of  the  excellence  of  this  new  master- 
piece" 7 

6  Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  I,  p.  332,  June  12,  1836. 

7  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  20,  October,  1835.    Letter 
to  Madame  Surville. 


128    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Both  Madame  Bechet  and  Werdet  were  in  despair  over 
Balzac's  journey  to  Vienna  in  1835,  but  things  grew  even 
worse  the  next  year.  The  novelist  gives  this  glimpse  of 
his  troubles : 

"My  mind  itself  was  crushed;  for  the  failure  of  the 
Chronique  came  upon  me  at  Sache,  at  M.  de  Margonne's, 
where,  by  a  wise  impulse,  I  was  plunged  in  work  to  rid 
myself  of  that  odious  Bechet.  I  had  undertaken  to  write 
in  ten  days  (it  was  that  which  kept  me  from  going  to 
Nemours!)  the  two  volumes  which  had  been  demanded  of 
me,  and  in  eight  days  I  had  invented  and  composed  Les 
Illusions  perdues,  and  had  written  a  third  of  it.  Think 
what  such  application  meant!  All  my  faculties  were 
strained;  I  wrote  fifteen  hours  a  day.  .  .  ."  8 

In  explaining  Balzac's  association  with  Madame  Bechet, 
M.  Henri  d'Almeras  states  that  Madame  Bechet  was  in- 
terested, at  first,  in  attaching  celebrated  writers  to  her 
publishing  house,  or  those  who  had  promise  of  fame.  She 
organized  weekly  dinner  parties,  which  took  place  on  Sat- 
urday, and  here  assembled  Beranger,  Henri  de  Latouche, 
Louis  Reybaud,  Leon  Gozlan,  Brissot-Thivars,  Balzac  and 
Dr.  Gentil.  It  was  with  Madame  Bechet  as  with  Charles 
Gosselin.  The  publication,  less  lucrative  than  she  ex- 
pected, of  the  first  series  of  the  Scenes  de  la  Vie  parisienne 
and  the  Scenes  de  la  Vie  de  Province  made  it  particularly 
disagreeable  to  her  to  receive  the  reproaches  of  a  writer 
who,  with  his  admirable  talent,  could  not  become  re- 
signed to  meet  with  less  success  than  other  litterateurs 
not  so  good  as  he. 
8  Lettres  a  I'fLtrangere,  v.  I,  p.  342,  July  13,  1836. 


George  Sand 
En  costume  masculin 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     129 

The  termination  of  their  business  relations  is  recounted 
thus:  "Illusions  perdues  appears  this  week.  On  the 
1 7th  I  have  a  meeting  to  close  up  all  claims  from  Madame 
Bechet  and  Werdet.  So  there  is  one  cause  of  torment  the 
less."  9 

If  M.  Hugues  Rebell  is  correct  in  his  surmise,  at  least  a 
part  of  Werdet's  admiration  for  the  novelist  was  inspired 
by  his  wife,  who  had  become  a  great  admirer  of  the  works 
of  the  young  writer,  not  well  known  at  that  time.  Ma- 
dame Werdet  persuaded  her  husband  to  speak  to  Madame 
Bechet  about  Balzac,  and  to  advise  her  to  publish  his 
works.  Her  husband  did  so,  but  Madame  Werdet  did  not 
stop  at  this.  She  convinced  him  that  he  should  leave 
Madame  Bechet  and  become  Balzac's  sole  publisher;  this 
he  was  for  five  years,  and,  moreover,  served  him  as  his 
banker.  M.  Rebell  thinks  also  that  Madame  Werdet  is 
the  "  delicious  bourgeoise  "  referred  to  in  Balzac's  letter 
to  Madame  Surville.10 

MADAME  ROSSINI MADAME  RECAMIER LA  DUCHESSE 

DE  DINO LA  COMTESSE  APPONY  — MADAME  DE  BER- 
NARD   MADAME  DAVID LA  BARONNE  GERARD 

"  You  wish  to  know  if  I  have  met  Foedora,  if  she  is 
true?  A  woman  from  cold  Russia,  the  Princess  Bagra- 
tion,  is  supposed  in  Paris  to  be  the  model  for  her.  I  have 
reached  the  seventy-second  woman  who  has  had  the  im- 
pertinence to  recognize  herself  in  that  character.  They 

*Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  i,  p.  374,  January  15,  1836. 

10  Les  Inspiratrices  de  Balzac,  pp.  16-18.  Allusion  is  made  to  the 
well  known  letter  of  Saturday,  October  12,  1833.  This  "  delicious 
bourgeoise  "  is  compared  to  Blanche  d'Azay  in  the  Peche  veniel,  one 
of  the  Conies  drolatiques. 


1 30     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

are  all  of  ripe  age.  Even  Madame  Recamier  is  willing 
to  fcedorize  herself.  Not  a  word  of  all  that  is  true.  I 
made  Fcedora  out  of  two  women  whom  I  have  known 
without  having  been  intimate  with  them.  Observation 
sufficed  me,  besides  a  few  confidences.  There  are  also 
some  kind  souls  who  will  have  it  that  I  have  courted  the 
handsomest  of  Parisian  courtesans  and  have  concealed 
myself  behind  her  curtains.  These  are  calumnies.  I  have 
met  a  Foedora ;  but  that  one  I  shall  not  paint ;  besides,  it 
has  been  a  long  time  since  La  Peau  de  Chagrin  was  pub- 
lished." " 

Quoting  Amedee  Pichot  and  Dr.  Meniere,  S.  de  Loven- 
joul  states  that  Mademoiselle  Olympe  Pelissier  is  the 
woman  whom  Balzac  used  as  a  model  for  his  Foedora, 
and  that,  like  Raphael,  he  concealed  himself  in  her  bed- 
room. She  is  indeed  the  woman  without  heart ;  she  kept 
in  the  rue  Neuve-du-Luxembourg  a  salon  frequented  by 
noted  political  people  such  as  the  Due  de  Fitz-James. 
Being  rich  as  well  as  beautiful,  and  having  an  exquisite 
voice,  she  was  highly  attractive  to  the  novelist,  who  as- 
pired to  her  hand,  and  who  regarded  her  refusal  with 
bitterness  all  his  life.  Several  years  later  she  was  married 
to  her  former  voice  teacher,  M.  Rossini. 

Balzac  met  the  famous  Olympe  early  in  his  literary 
career;  he  says  of  her: 

"  Two  years  ago,  Sue  quarreled  with  a  mauvaise  cour- 
tesane  celebrated  for  her  beauty  (she  is  the  original  of 
Vernet's  Judith).  I  lowered  myself  to  reconcile  them,  and 
they  gave  her  to  me.  M.  de  Fitz-James,  the  Due  de  Duras, 
and  the  old  count  went  to  her  house  to  talk,  as  on  neutral 

11  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  9,  January,  1833. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS    131 

ground,  much  as  people  walk  in  the  alley  of  the  Tuileries 
to  meet  one  another;  and  one  expects  better  conduct  of 
me  than  of  those  gentlemen !  .  .  .  As  for  Rossini,  I  wish 
him  to  write  me  a  nice  letter,  and  he  has  just  invited  me 
to  dine  with  his  mistress,  who  happens  to  be  that  beauti- 
ful Judith,  the  former  mistress  of  Horace  Vernet  and  of 
Sue,  you  know.  .  .  ." 12 

Some  months  after  this  Balzac  gave  a  dinner  to  his 
Tigres,  as  he  called  the  group  occupying  the  same  box 
with  him  at  the  opera.  Concerning  this  dinner,  he  writes : 

"  Next  Saturday  I  give  a  dinner  to  the  Tigres  of  my 
opera-box,  and  I  am  preparing  sumptuosities  out  of  all 
reason.  I  shall  have  Rossini  and  Olympe,  his  cara  dona, 
who  will  preside.  .  .  .  My  dinner  ?  Why,  it  made  a  great 
excitement.  Rossini  declared  he  had  never  seen  eaten  or 
drunk  anything  better  among  sovereigns.  This  dinner 
was  sparkling  with  wit.  The  beautiful  Olympe  was 
graceful,  sensible  and  perfect."  13 

Balzac  was  a  great  admirer  of  Rossini,  wrote  the  words 
for  one  of  his  compositions,  and  dedicated  to  him  Le 
Contrat  de  Manage. 

Among  the  famous  salons  that  Balzac  frequented  was 
that  of  Madame  Recamier,  who  was  noted  even  more  for 
her  distinction  and  grace  than  for  her  beauty.  She  ap- 
preciated the  ability  of  the  young  writer,  and  invited  him 

12  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  pp.  18,  84,  March,  November,  1833. 

13  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  pp.  200,  211,  October  26,  November  26, 
1834.     The  present  writer  has  not  been  able  to  find  any  date  that 
would  prove  positively  that  Balzac  knew  Madame  Rossini  before 
writing  La  Peau  de  Chagrin  which  appeared  in  1830-1831. 


132    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

to  read  in  her  salon  long  before  the  world  recognized  his 
name.  He  admired  her  greatly;  of  one  of  his  visits  to 
her  he  writes : 

"  Yesterday  I  went  to  see  Madame  Recamier,  whom  I 
found  ill  but  wonderfully  bright  and  kind.  I  have  heard 
that  she  did  much  good,  and  acted  very  nobly  in  being 
silent  and  making  no  complaint  of  the  ungrateful  beings 
she  has  met.  No  doubt  she  saw  upon  my  face  a  reflection 
of  what  I  thought  of  her,  and,  without  explaining  to  her- 
self this  little  sympathy,  she  was  charming."  14 

Although  one  would  not  suspect  Madame  Hanska  of 
being  jealous  of  Madame  Recamier,  perhaps  it  is  because 
she  wished  to  jazdorize  herself  that  Balzac  writes : 

" Mon  Dieu!  do  not  be  jealous  of  any  one.  I  have  not 
been  to  see  Madame  Recamier  or  any  one  else.  ...  As  to 
my  relations  with  the  person  you  speak  of,  I  never  had  any 
that  were  tender;  I  have  none  now.  I  answered  a  very 
unimportant  letter,  and,  apropos  of  a  sentence,  I  explained 
myself ;  that  was  all.  There  are  relations  of  politeness 
due  to  women  of  a  certain  rank  whom  one  has  known ;  but 
a  visit  to  Madame  Recamier  is  not,  I  suppose,  relations, 
when  one  visits  her  once  in  three  months."  15 

One  of  the  famous  women  whom  Balzac  met  soon  after 
he  began  to  acquire  literary  fame  was  the  Duchesse  de 
Dino,  who  was  married  to  Talleyrand's  nephew  in  1809. 

"  When  her  husband's  uncle  became  French  Ambassador 
at  Vienna  in  1814,  she  went  with  him  as  mistress  of  the 

14  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  25,  May  29,  1833. 

15  Lettres  a  'l£trangere,  v.  I,  pp.  32,  74,  August  19,  November  6, 
1833. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     133 

embassy.  When  he  was  sent  to  London  in  1830,  she  ac- 
companied him  in  the  same  capacity.  She  lived  with  him 
till  his  death  in  1838,  entirely  devoted  to  his  welfare,  and 
she  has  given  us  in  these  pages  a  picture  of  the  old  Talley- 
rand which  is  among  the  masterpieces  of  memoir- writing. 
From  this  connection  she  was  naturally  for  many  years  in 
the  very  heart  of  political  affairs,  as  no  one  was,  save 
perhaps  that  other  Dorothea  of  the  Baltic,  the  Princess 
de  Lieven.  To  great  beauty  and  spirit  she  added  un- 
usual talents,  and  in  the  best  sense  was  a  great  lady  of  the 
haute  politique"  16 

Balzac  had  met  her  in  the  salon  of  Madame  Appony, 
but  had  never  visited  her  in  her  home  until  1836,  when 
he  went  to  Rochecotte  to  see  the  famous  Prince  de  Talley- 
rand, having  a  great  desire  to  have  a  view  of  the  "  witty 
turkeys  who  plucked  the  eagle  and  made  it  tumble  into 
the  ditch  of  the  house  of  Austria."  Several  years  later, 
on  his  return  from  St.  Petersburg,  he  stopped  in  Berlin, 
where  he  was  invited  to  a  grand  dinner  at  the  home  of 
the  Count  and  Countess  Bresson.  He  gave  his  arm  to 
the  Duchesse  de  Talleyrand  (ex-Dino),  whom  he  thought 
the  most  beautiful  lady  present,  although  she  was  fifty- 
two  years  of  age. 

The  Duchess  has  left  this  appreciation  of  the  novelist : 
".  .  .  his  face  and  bearing  are  vulgar,  and  I  imagine  his 
ideas  are  equally  so.  Undoubtedly,  he  is  a  very  clever 
man,  but  his  conversation  is  neither  easy  nor  light,  but 
on  the  contrary,  very  dull.  He  watched  and  examined 
all  of  us  most  minutely."  17 

10  Princess  Radziwill,  the  Nation,  v.  92,  p.  15,  January  5,  1911. 
17  Ibid.    Taken  from  the  Chronique  of  the  Duchesse  de  Dino,  writ- 
ten 1831-1850. 


134     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Notwithstanding  that  the  beautiful  Dorothea  did  not 
admire  Balzac,  he  was  sincere  in  his  appreciation  of  her. 
A  novel  recently  brought  to  light,  L' Amour  Masque,  or 
as  the  author  first  called  it,  Imprudence  et  Bonheur,  was 
written  for  her.  Balzac  had  been  her  guest  repeatedly; 
he  had  recognized  in  her  one  of  those  rare  women,  who 
by  their  intelligence  and,  as  it  were,  instinctive  apprecia- 
tion of  genius  can  compensate  to  a  great  incompris 
like  Balzac  for  the  lack  of  recognition  on  the  part  of  his 
contemporaries;  one  of  those  women  near  whom,  thanks 
to  tactful  treatment,  a  depressed  man  will  regain  confi- 
dence in  himself  and  courage  to  go  on.18 

Of  the  distinguished  houses  which  were  open  to  Balzac, 
that  of  the  Comte  Appony  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful. 
This  protege  of  the  Prince  de  Metternich,  having  had  the 
rare  good  fortune  to  please  both  governments,  was  re- 
tained by  Louis-Philippe,  and  was  as  well  liked  and  ap- 
preciated in  the  role  of  ambassador  and  diplomat  as  in 
that  of  man  of  the  world.  The  Countess  Appony  pos- 
sessed a  very  peculiar  charm,  and  was  a  type  of  feminine 
distinction.  Balls  and  receptions  were  given  frequently 
in  her  home,  where  all  was  of  a  supreme  elegance. 

Balzac  visited  the  Count  and  Countess  frequently,  often 
having  a  letter  or  a  message  to  deliver  for  the  Comtesse 
Marie  Potogka.  He  realized  that  it  would  be  of  advan- 
tage to  be  friendly  toward  the  Ambassador  of  Austria, 
and  he  doubtless  enjoyed  the  society  of  his  charming  wife. 
He  writes  of  one  of  these  visits : 

"  Alas !  your  moujik  also  has  been  un  poco  in  that  mar- 
18  Albert  Schinz,  the  Bookman,  v.  33,  p.  366,  June,  1911. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     135 

ket  of  false  smiles  and  charming  toilets ;  he  has  made  his 
debut  at  Madame  Appony's, —  for  the  house  of  Balzac 
must  live  on  good  terms  with  the  house  of  Austria, — 
and  your  moujik  had  some  success.  He  was  examined 
with  the  curiosity  felt  for  animals  from  distant  regions. 
There  were  presentations  on  presentations,  which  bored 
him  so  that  he  placed  himself  in  a  corner  with  some  Rus- 
sians and  Poles.  But  their  names  are  so  difficult  to  pro- 
nounce that  he  cannot  tell  you  anything  about  them,  fur- 
ther than  that  one  was  a  very  ugly  lady,  friend  of  Ma- 
dame Hahn,  and  a  Countess  Schouwalof,  sister  of  Ma- 
dame Jeroslas.  ...  Is  that  right?  The  moujik  will  go 
there  every  two  weeks,  if  his  lady  permits  him."  19 

The  novelist  met  many  prominent  people  at  these  re- 
ceptions, among  them  Prince  Esterhazy;  he  went  to  the 
beautiful  soirees  of  Madame  Appony  while  refusing  to  go 
elsewhere,  even  to  the  opera. 

Several  women  Balzac  probably  met  through  his  inti- 
macy with  their  husbands.  Among  these  were  Ma- 
dame de  Bernard,  whose  name  was  Clementine,  but 
whom  he  called  "  Mentine "  and  "  La  Fosseuse,"  this 
character  being  the  frail,  nervous  young  girl  in  Le 
Medecin  de  Campagne.  In  August,  1831,  M.  Charles  de 
Bernard  wrote  a  very  favorable  article  about  La  Peau 
de  Chagrin  in  the  Gazette  de  Franche-Comte,  which  he 
was  editing  at  that  time.  This  naturally  pleased  the 
novelist;  their  friendship  continued  through  many  years, 
and  in  1844,  Balzac  dedicated  to  him  Sarrazine,  written 
in  1830. 
19  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  226,  January  16,  1835. 


136     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Early  in  his  literary  career  Balzac  knew  Baron  Gerard, 
and  in  writing  to  the  painter,  sent  greetings  to  Madame 
Gerard.  Much  later  in  life,  while  posing  for  his  bust, 
made  by  David  d'Angers,  he  saw  Madame  David  fre- 
quently, and  learned  to  like  her.  He  felt  flattered  that 
she  thought  he  looked  so  much  younger  than  he  really 
was.  On  his  return  from  St.  Petersburg,  in  1843,  ne 
brought  her  a  pound  of  Russian  tea,  which,  as  he  ex- 
plained, had  no  other  merit  than  the  exceeding  difficulties 
it  had  encountered  in  passing  through  twenty  custom- 
houses. 

LA  COMTESSE  VISCONTI MADAME  DE  VALETTE 

MADEMOISELLE    KOZLOWSKA 

"  Madame  de  Visconti,  of  whom  you  speak  to  me,  is  one 
of  the  most  amiable  of  women,  of  an  infinite,  exquisite 
kindness;  a  delicate  and  elegant  beauty.  She  helps  me 
much  to  bear  my  life.  She  is  gentle,  and  full  of  firmness, 
immovable  and  implacable  in  her  ideas  and  her  repug- 
nances. She  is  a  person  to  be  depended  on.  She  has  not 
been  fortunate,  or  rather,  her  fortune  and  that  of  the 
Count  are  not  in  keeping  with  this  splendid  name.  .  .  . 
It  is  a  friendship  which  consoles  me  under  many  griefs. 
But,  unfortunately,  I  see  her  very  seldom."  20 

Madame  Smile  Guidoboni-Visconti,  nee  (Frances 
Sarah)  Lowell,  was  an  Englishwoman,  another  etr anger e. 
Balzac  shared  the  same  box  with  her  at  the  Italian  opera, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1836,  he  went  to  Turin  to  look  after 
some  legal  business  for  the  Viscontis.  He  had  not  known 
them  long  before  this,  for  he  writes,  in  speaking  of  Le  Lys 

z°Lettres  d  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  pp.  530,  531,  February  10,  1840. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     137 

dans  la  Vallee:  Do  they  not  say  that  I  have  painted  Ma- 
dame Visconti  ?  Such  are  the  judgments  to  which  we  are 
exposed.  You  know  that  I  had  the  proofs  in  Vienna,  and 
that  portrait  was  written  at  Sache  and  corrected  at 
La  Bouleauniere,  before  I  had  ever  seen  Madame  Vis- 
conti." 21 

Either  this  new  friendship  became  too  ardent  for  the 
comfort  of  Madame  Hanska,  or  she  heard  false  reports 
concerning  it,  for  she  made  objections  to  which  Balzac 
responds : 

"  Must  I  renounce  the  Italian  opera,  the  only  pleasure 
I  have  in  Paris,  because  I  have  no  other  seat  than  in  a 
box  where  there  is  also  a  charming  and  gracious  woman? 
If  calumny,  which  respects  nothing,  demands  it,  I  shall 
give  up  music  also.  I  was  in  a  box  among  people  who 
were  an  injury  to  me,  and  brought  me  into  disrepute.  I 
had  to  go  elsewhere,  and,  in  all  conscience,  I  did  not  wish 
Olympe's  box.  But  let  us  drop  the  subject."  22 

The  friendship  continued  to  grow,  however,  and  in 
December,  1836,  the  novelist  offered  her  the  manuscript 
of  La  vieille  Fille.  He  visited  her  frequently  in  her 
home,  and  on  his  return  from  an  extended  tour  to  Corsica 
and  Sardinia  in  1838  he  spent  some  time  in  Milan,  look- 
ing after  some  business  interests  for  the  Visconti  family. 

When  Balzac  was  living  secluded  from  his  creditors, 
Madame  Visconti  showed  her  friendship  for  him  in  a 
very  material  way.  The  bailiff  had  been  seeking  him  for 

21  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  351,  October  i,  1836.    La  Bouleaun- 
iere was  the  home  of  Madame  de  Berny,  at  Nemours.    Balzac  vis- 
ited Madame  Hanska  at  Vienna  in  the  spring  of  1835. 

22  Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  I,  p.  348,  September  30,  1836. 


138     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

three  weeks,  when  a  vindictive  Ariadne,  having  a  strong 
interest  in  seeing  Balzac  conducted  to  prison,  presented 
herself  at  the  home  of  the  creditor  and  informed  him  that 
the  novelist  was  residing  in  the  Champs-filysees,  at  the 
home  of  Madame  Visconti.  Nothing  could  have  been 
more  exact  than  this  information.  Two  hours  later,  the 
home  was  surrounded,  and  Balzac,  interrupted  in  the  midst 
of  a  chapter  of  one  of  his  novels,  saw  two  bailiffs  enter, 
armed  with  the  traditional  club;  they  showed  him  a  cab 
waiting  at  the  door.  A  woman  had  betrayed  him  —  now 
a  woman  saved  him.  Madame  Visconti  flung  ten  thou- 
sand francs  in  the  faces  of  the  bailiffs,  and  showed  them 
the  door.23 

During  Balzac's  residence  aux  Jardies  he  was  quite 
near  Madame  Visconti,  as  she  was  living  in  a  rather  in- 
significant house  just  opposite  the  home  Balzac  had  built. 
He  enjoyed  her  companionship,  and  when  she  moved  to 
Versailles  he  regretted  not  being  able  to  see  her  more 
frequently  than  once  a  fortnight,  for  she  was  one  of  the 
few  who  gave  him  their  sympathy  at  that  time. 

Several  months  later  Balzac  was  disappointed  in  her, 

23  Eugene  de  Mirecourt,  Les  Contemporains,  pp.  68,  69,  does  not 
give  the  date  of  this  incident.  Keim  et  Lumet,  H.  de  Balzac,  p.  179, 
state  that  it  occurred  in  1837,  but  E.  E.  Saltus,  Balzac,  pp.  134,  135, 
states  that  it  was  in  connection  with  the  indebtedness  to  William 
Duckett,  editor  of  the  Dictionnaire  de  la  Conversation,  in  1846.  F. 
Lawton,  Balzac,  pp.  144-147,  states  that  it  was  in  connection  with  his 
indebtedness  to  Duckett  on  account  of  the  Chronicle,  and  that  Balzac 
was  sued  in  1837.  If  the  letter  to  Mme.  de  V.,  Memoir  and  Letters 
of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  160,  was  addressed  to  Madame  Visconti,  he  was 
owing  her  in  1840.  M.  F.  Sandars,  Honore  de  Balzac,  p.  240,  states 
that  about  1846-1848,  Balzac  borrowed  10,000  or  15,000  francs  from 
the  Viscontis,  giving  them  as  guarantee  shares  in  the  Chemin  de  Fer 
du  Nord. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     139 

and  referred  to  her  bitterly  as  L'Anglaise,  L'Angleterre, 
or  "  the  lady  who  lived  at  Versailles."  He  felt  that  she 
was  ungrateful  and  inconsiderate,  and,  while  he  remained 
on  speaking  terms  with  her,  he  regarded  this  friendship 
as  one  of  the  misfortunes  of  his  life. 

After  the  death  of  Madame  Visconti  (April  28,  1883), 
a  picture  of  Balzac  which  had  been  in  her  possession  was 
placed  in  the  museum  at  Tours.  This  is  supposed  to  be 
the  portrait  painted  by  Gerard-Seguin,  exhibited  in  the 
Salon  in  1842,  and  presented  to  her  by  Balzac  at  that  time. 

In  answering  several  of  Madame  Hanska's  questions, 
Balzac  writes:  "  No,  I  was  not  happy  in  writing  Bea- 
trix; you  ought  to  have  known  it.  Yes,  Sarah  is  Madame 
de  Visconti;  yes,  Mademoiselle  des  Touches  is  George 
Sand ;  yes,  Beatrix  is  even  too  much  Madame  d' Agoult."  24 
A  few  months  later  he  writes :  "  The  friendship  of 
which  I  spoke  to  you,  and  at  which  you  laughed,  apropos 
of  the  dedication,  is  not  all  I  thought  it.  English  preju- 
dices are  terrible,  they  take  away  what  is  an  essential  to 
all  artists,  the  laisser-aller ,  unconstraint.  Never  have  I 
done  so  well  as  when,  in  the  Lys,  I  explained  the  women 
of  that  country  in  a  few  words."  25 

From  the  above,  one  would  suppose  that  Madame  Vis- 
conti is  the  "  Sarah  "  whom  Balzac  addresses  in  the  dedi- 
cation of  Beatrix: 

"  To  Sarah. 

"  In  clear  weather,  on  the  Mediterranean  shores,  where 

24  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  527,  February,  1840. 

25  Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  i,  p.  538,  May  15,  1840.     This  is  prob- 
ably the  basis   for  Mr.  Monahan's   statement  that  Balzac  pictured 
Madame  Visconti  as  Lady  Dudley  in  Le  Lys  dans  la  Vallee. 


1 40     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

formerly  extended  the  magnificent  empire  of  your  name, 
the  sea  sometimes  allows  us  to  perceive  beneath  the  mist 
of  waters  a  sea-flower,  one  of  Nature's  masterpieces ;  the 
lacework  of  its  tissues,  tinged  with  purple,  russet,  rose, 
violet,  or  gold,  the  crispness  of  its  living  filigrees,  the 
velvet  texture,  all  vanish  as  soon  as  curiosity  draws  it 
forth  and  spreads  it  on  the  strand.  Thus  would  the 
glare  of  publicity  offend  your  tender  modesty ;  so,  in  dedi- 
cating this  work  to  you,  I  must  reserve  a  name  which 
would,  indeed,  be  its  pride.  But,  under  the  shelter  of  this 
half -concealment,  your  superb  hands  may  bless  it,  your 
noble  brow  may  bend  and  dream  over  it,  your  eyes,  full 
of  motherly  love,  may  smile  upon  it,  since  you  are  here 
at  once  present  and  veiled.  Like  this  pearl  of  the  ocean- 
garden,  you  will  dwell  on  the  fine,  white,  level  sand  where 
your  beautiful  life  expands,  hidden  by  a  wave  that  is 
transparent  only  to  certain  friendly  and  reticent  eyes.  I 
would  gladly  have  laid  at  your  feet  a  work  in  harmony 
with  your  perfections ;  but  as  that  was  impossible,  I  knew, 
for  my  consolation,  that  I  was  gratifying  one  of  your  in- 
stincts by  offering  you  something  to  protect. 

"  DE  BALZAC."  26 

In  sending  the  corrected  proofs  of  Beatrix  to  "  Ma- 
dame de  V ,"  Balzac  writes : 

"My  dear  friend, —  Here  are  the  proofs  of  Beatrix: 
a  book  for  which  you  have  made  me  feel  an  affection,  such 
as  I  have  not  felt  for  any  other  book.  It  has  been  the 

26  S.  de  Lovenjoul,  Histoire  des  CEwures  de  Balzac,  p.  496,  states 
that  the  "  Sarah "  to  whom  Balzac  dedicated  Beatrix  is  no  other 
than  an  Englishwoman,  Frances  Sarah  Lowell,  who  became  the  Com- 
tesse  fimile  Guidoboni-Visconti.  She  was  born  at  Hilks,  September 
29,  1804,  and  died  at  Versailles  April  28,  1883. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     141 

ring  which  has  united  our  friendship.  I  never  give  these 
things  except  to  those  I  love,  for  they  bear  witness  to  my 
long  labors,  and  to  that  patience  of  which  I  spoke  to  you. 
My  nights  have  been  passed  over  these  terrible  pages, 
and  amongst  all  to  whom  I  have  presented  them,  I  know 
no  heart  more  pure  and  noble  than  yours,  in  spite  of  those 
little  attacks  of  want  of  faith  in  me,  which  no  doubt  arises 
from  your  great  wish  to  find  a  poor  author  more  perfect 
than  he  can  be.  .  .  ." 2T 

In  contradiction  to  the  preceding,  M.  Leon  Seche  thinks 
that  Beatrix  was  dedicated  to  Madame  Helene-Marie- 

Felicite  Valette,  and  that  she  is  the  "  Madame  de  V " 

to  whom  the  letter  is  addressed.  Helene  de  Valette  (she 
probably  had  no  right  to  the  "  nobiliary  "  de  although  she 
signed  her  name  thus)  was  the  daughter  of  Pierre  Valette, 
Lieutenant  de  Vaisseau,  who  after  the  death  of  Madame 
Valette,  in  1818,  became  a  priest  at  Vannes  in  order  to 
be  near  their  daughter  Helene,  who  was  in  the  convent  of 
the  Ursulines.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  married  her 
to  a  notary  of  Vannes,  thirty  years  her  senior,  a  widower 
with  a  bad  reputation,  whose  name  was  Jean-Marie-An- 
gele  Gougeon.  Scarcely  had  she  married  when  she  had  an 
intrigue  with  a  physician;  her  husband  died  soon  after 
this,  and  she  resumed  her  maiden  name.  She  adopted  the 
daughter  of  a  palndier,28  Le  Gallo,  whose  wife  had  saved 
her  from  drowning,  and  named  her  "  Marie  "  in  memory 
of  Balzac's  favorite  name  for  herself. 

In  stating  that  the  letter  to  "  Madame  de  V "  is  ad- 
dressed to  Madame  Valette,  M.  Seche  publishes  a  letter 

27  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  159,  1840.    Letter  to  Mm* 
de  V 

28  Paludier.    One  who  works  in  the  salt  marshes. 


1 42    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

almost  identical1  with  the  one  that  is  found  in  both  the 
Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac  (v.  2,  p.  159)  and  the 
Correspondence,  1819-1850  (v.  2,  p.  4),  one  of  the  chief 
differences  being  that  in  this  letter  Balzac  addresses  her  as 
"  My  dear  Marie  "  instead  of  "  My  dear  friend."  In 

telling  "  Madame  de  V "  that  he  is  sending  her  the 

proofs  of  Beatrix,  Balzac  refers  to  the  suppression  of  his 
play  Vautrin,  and  says  that  the  director  des  beaux-arts 
has  come  a  second  time  to  offer  him  an  indemnity  which 
ne  faisait  pas  votre  somme.  This  might  lead  one  to  think 
that  he  had  had  some  financial  dealings  with  her. 

In  the  dedication  of  Beatrix,  dated  Aux  Jardies,  De- 
:ember,  1838,  Balzac  speaks  of  Sarah's  being  a  pearl  of  the 
Mediterranean.  In  the  Island  of  Malta  is  a  town  called 
Cite-Vallette  —  suggestive  of  the  name  Felicite  Valette. 
Felicite  is  also  the  name  of  the  heroine,  Felicite  des 
Touches,  although  Marie  is  the  name  of  Madame  Valette 
that  Balzac  liked  best. 

In  1836,  after  reading  some  of  Balzac's  novels,  Madame 
de  Valette  wrote  to  Balzac.  Attracted  by  her,  he  went  to 
Guerande  where  he  took  his  meals  at  a  little  hotel  kept  by 
the  demoiselles  Bouniol,  mentioned  in  Beatrix.  Under 
her  guidance  he  roamed  over  the  country  and  then  wrote 
Beatrix.  She  pretended  to  him  to  have  been  born  at 
Guerande  and  to  have  been  reared  as  a  paludiere  by  her 
godmother,  Madame  de  Lamoignon-Lavalette,  whence  the 
reference  in  the  dedication  to  the  former  "  empire  of  your 
lame."  Her  real  godmother  was  Marie-Felicite  Burgaud. 
Balzac  did  not  know  that  she  had  been  married  to  the 
notary  Gougeon,  and  thought  that  her  mother  was  still 
living. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     143 

When  Madame  de  Valette  went  to  Paris  to  reside,  she 
was  noted  for  her  beauty  and  eccentric  manners ;  she  rode 
horseback  to  visit  Balzac  aux  Jardies.  She  met  a  young 
writer,  Edmond  Cador,  who  revealed  to  Balzac  all  that 
she  had  kept  from  him.  This  deception  provoked  Balzac 
and  gave  rise  to  an  exchange  of  rather  sharp  letters,  and 
a  long  silence  followed.  After  Balzac's  death  she  gave 
Madame  Honore  de  Balzac  trouble  concerning  Beatrix 
and  her  correspondence  with  Balzac,  which  she  claimed. 
She  died  January  14,  1873,  at  tne  home  of  the  Baron 
Larrey  whom  she  had  appointed  as  her  residuary  legatee. 
She  is  buried  in  the  Pere-Lachaise  cemetery,  and  on  her 
tomb  is  written  Veuve  Gougeon. 

In  her  letters  to  Balzac,  given  by  Spoelberch  de  Loven- 
joul  to  the  French  Academy,  she  addressed  him  as  "  My 
dear  beloved  treasure,"  and  signed  her  name  Babouino. 
There  exists  a  letter  from  her  to  him  in  which  she  tells 
him  that  she  is  going  to  Vannes  to  visit  for  a  fortnight, 
after  which  she  will  go  to  Beam  to  make  the  acquaintance 
of  her  husband's  people,  and  asks  him  to  address  her 
under  the  name  of  Helene-Marie.29 

After  the  death  of  Madame  de  Valette,  the  Baron 
Larrey,  in  memory  of  her  relations  with  Balzac,  presented 
to  the  city  of  Tours  the  corrected  proofs  of  Beatrix,  and 
a  portrait  of  Balzac  which  he  had  received  from  her. 

29  Leon  Seche,  Les  Inspiratrices  de  Balzac,  Helene  de  Valette,  Les 
Annales  Romantiques,  pp.  321-333,  1908-1909,  supposes  that  this  is 
another  falsehood,  since  he  could  find  no  record  of  where  any  member 
of  the  Gougeon  family  had  ever  lived  in  Beam.  Much  of  his  in- 
formation has  been  secured  from  Dr.  Closmadeuc,  who  lived  at 
Vannes  and  who  attended  Madame  de  Valette  in  her  late  years ;  also, 
from  her  adopted  daughter,  Mile.  Le  Gallo. 


Among  Balzac's  numerous  Russian  friends  was  Made- 
moiselle Sophie  Kozlowska.  "  Sophie  is  the  daughter  of 
Prince  Kozlowski,  whose  marriage  was  not  recognized; 
you  must  have  heard  of  that  very  witty  diplomat,  who  is 
with  Prince  Paskevitch  in  Warsaw."  30 

This  friendship  seems  to  have  been  rather  close  for 
a  while,  Balzac  addressing  her  as  Sofka,  Sof,  Sophie  and 
carissima  Soft.  Just  before  the  presentation  of  his  play 
Quinola  he  wrote  her,  asking  for  the  names  and  addresses 
of  her  various  Russian  friends  who  wished  seats,  as  many 
enemies  were  giving  false  names.  He  wanted  to  place 
the  beautiful  ladies  in  front,  and  wished  to  know  in  what 
party  she  would  be,  and  the  definite  number  of  tickets 
and  location  desired  for  each  friend. 

In  this  same  jovial  vein  he  writes  her:  "  Mina  wrote 
me  that  you  were  ill,  and  that  dealt  me  a  blow  as  if  one 
had  told  Napoleon  his  aide-de-camp  was  dead."  31  His 
attitude  towards  her  changed  some  months  after  writing 
this;  she  became  the  means  of  alienating  his  friend  Ga- 
vault  from  him,  or  at  least  he  so  suspected,  and  thought 
that  she  was  influenced  by  Madame  Visconti.  This  cold- 
ness soon  turned  to  enmity,  and  she  completely  won  from 
him  his  former  friend,  Gavault,  who  had  become  very 
much  enamored  with  her.  The  novelist  expressed  the 
same  bitterness  of  feeling  for  her  as  he  did  for  Madame 
Visconti,  but  as  the  years  went  by,  either  his  aversion  to 

30  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  456,  January  20,  1838.    By  explain- 
ing to  Madame  Hanska  who  Sophie  is,  one  would  not  suppose  that 
Balzac  met  her  at  Madame  Hanska's  home,  as  M.  E.  Pilon  states  in 
his  article,  Les  Dedicaces  dans  I'oeuvre  de  Balzac,  Revue  politique  et 
litteraire,  p.  671,  1902. 

31  Correspondence,  1810^1850,  v.  2,  pp.  30,  31,  March  12,  1842. 


Mme.  Desbordes  Valmore 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     145 

these  two  women  softened,  or  he  thought  it  good  policy 
to  retain  their  good  will,  for  he  wished  their  names  placed 
on  his  invitation  list. 

Balzac's  feeling  of  friendship  for  her  must  have  been 
sincere  at  one  time,  for  he  dedicated  La  Bourse: 

"  To  Sofka. 

"  Have  you  not  observed,  mademoiselle,  that  the  paint- 
ers and  sculptors  of  the  Middle  Ages,  when  they  placed 
two  figures  in  adoration,  one  on  each  side  of  a  fair  Saint, 
never  fail  to  give  them  a  family  likeness?  On  seeing 
your  name  among  those  who  are  dear  to  me,  and  under 
whose  auspices  I  place  my  works,  remember  that  touching 
harmony,  and  you  will  see  in  this  not  so  much  an  act  of 
homage  as  an  expression  of  the  brotherly  affection  of 
your  devoted  servant, 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

LA  COMTESSE  TURHEIM LA  COMTESSE  DE  BOCARME 

LA    COMTESSE    MERLIN LA    PRINCESSE    GALITZIN 

DE  GENTHOL LA  BARONNE  DE  ROTHSCHILD LA 

COMTESSE  MAFFEI LA  COMTESSE  SERAFINA  SAN- 

SEVERINO LA  COMTESSE  BOLOGNINI 

"  I  have  found  a  letter  from  the  kind  Countess  Loulou, 
who  loves  you  and  whom  you  love,  and  in  whose  letter 
your  name  is  mentioned  in  a  melancholy  sentence  which 
drew  tears  from  my  eyes;  ...  I  am  going  to  write  to 
the  good  Loulou  without  telling  her  all  she  has  done  by 
her  letter,  for  such  things  are  difficult  to  express,  even  to 
that  kind  German  woman.  But  she  spoke  of  you  with  so 
much  soul  that  I  can  tell  her  that  what  in  her  is  friend- 
ship, in  me  is  worship  that  can  never  end."  32 

82  Lettres  a  I'Strangere,  v.  i,  p.  480,  June  5,  1838. 


i46     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

The  Countess  Louise  Turheim  called  "  Loulou "  by 
her  intimate  friends  and  her  sister,  Princess  Constantine 
Razumofsky,  met  Madame  Hanska  in  the  course  of  her 
prolonged  stay  in  Vienna  in  1835,  and  the  three  women 
remained  friends  throughout  their  lives.  The  Countess 
Loulou  was  a  canoness,  and  Balzac  met  her  while  visiting 
in  Vienna;  he  admired  her  for  herself  as  well  as  for  her 
friendship  for  his  Chatelaine.  Her  brother-in-law,  Prince 
Razumofsky,  wished  Balzac  to  secure  him  a  reader  at 
Paris,  but  since  there  was  limitation  as  to  the  price,  he 
had  some  trouble  in  finding  a  suitable  one.  This  made  a 
correspondence  with  the  Countess  necessary,  as  it  was  she 
who  made  the  request ;  but  Madame  Hanska  was  not  only 
willing  that  Balzac  should  write  to  her  but  sent  him  her 
address,  and  they  exchanged  messages  frequently  about 
the  canoness. 

In  1842,  Une  double  Famille,  a  story  written  in  1830, 
was  dedicated: 

"  To  Madame  la  Comtesse  de  Turheim 

"As  a  token  of  remembrance  and  affectionate  respect. 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

The  Countess  de  Bocarme,  nee  du  Chasteler,  was  an 
artist  who  helped  Balzac  by  painting  in  water-colors  the 
portraits  of  her  uncle,  the  field-marshal,  and  Andreas 
Hofer;  he  wished  these  in  order  to  be  able  to  depict  the 
heroes  of  the  Tyrol  in  the  campaign  of  1809.  She  painted 
also  the  entire  armorial  for  the  fLtudes  de  Mceurs;  this 
consisted  of  about  one  hundred  armorial  bearings,  and 
was  a  masterpiece.  She  promised  to  paint  his  study  at 
Passy  in  water-colors,  which  was  to  be  a  souvenir  for 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     147 

Madame  Hanska  of  the  place  where  he  was  to  finish  pay- 
ing his  debts.  All  this  pleased  the  novelist  greatly,  but 
she  presented  him  with  one  gift  which  he  considered  as 
in  bad  taste.  This  was  a  sort  of  monument  with  a  muse 
crowning  him,  another  writing  on  a  folio:  Comedie  hu- 
maine,  with  Divo  Balzac  above. 

Madame  de  Bocarme  had  been  reared  in  a  convent  with 
a  niece  of  Madame  Rosalie  Rzewuska,  had  traveled  much, 
and  was  rather  brilliant  in  describing  what  she  had  seen. 
She  visited  Balzac  while  he  was  living  aux  Jardies.  She 
was  a  great  friend  of  the  Countess  Chlendowska,  whose 
husband  was  Balzac's  bookseller,  and  the  novelist  counted 
on  her  to  lend  the  money  for  one  of  his  business  schemes. 
Being  fond  of  whist,  she  took  Madame  Chlendowska  to 
Balzac's  home  during  his  illness  of  a  few  weeks,  and  they 
entertained  him  by  playing  cards  with  him. 

Balzac  called  her  Bettina,  and  after  she  left  Paris  for 
the  Chateau  de  Bury  in  Belgium,  he  took  his  housekeeper, 
Madame  de  Brugnolle,  to  visit  her.  Madame  de  Chlen- 
dowska was  there  also,  but  he  did  not  care  for  her  espe- 
cially, as  she  pretended  to  know  too  much  about  his  in- 
timacy with  his  "  polar  star."  Madame  de  Bocarme  had 
one  fault  that  annoyed  him  very  much ;  she,  too,  was  in- 
clined to  gossip  about  his  association  with  Madame 
Hanska. 

In  1843,  Balzac  erased  from  Le  Colonel  Chabert  the 
dedication  to  M.  de  Custine,  and  replaced  it  by  one  to 
Madame  la  Comtesse  Ida  de  Bocarme,  nee  du  Chasteler. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  salons  in  Paris  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Monarchy  of  July  was  that  of  Countess 


i48     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Merlin,  where  all  the  celebrities  met,  especially  the  mu- 
sicians. Born  in  Havana,  the  young,  beautiful,  rich  and 
talented  Madame  Merlin  added  to  the  poetic  grace  of  a 
Spaniard  the  wit  and  distinction  of  a  French  woman. 
General  Merlin  married  her  in  Madrid  in  1811,  and 
brought  her  to  Paris,  where  she  created  a  sensation.  Be- 
ing an  accomplished  musician,  she  gave  delightful  con- 
certs, and  though  also  gifted  as  a  writer  she  was  as  simple 
and  unpretentious  as  if  she  had  been  created  to  remain 
obscure.  In  addition,  she  was  so  truly  good  that  she  had 
almost  no  enemies;  her  charity  was  inexhaustible,  and 
she  possessed  one  of  those  hearts  which  live  only  to  do 
good  and  to  love. 

It  was  Balzac's  good  fortune  to  be  introduced  into  this 
salon.  He  explained  to  Madame  Hanska  that  he  went 
there  to  play  lansquenet  in  order  to  escape  becoming  in- 
sane! He  was  anxious  to  have  Madame  Merlin  present 
at  the  first  presentation  of  his  Quinola,  where  she  wished 
to  have  Martinez  de  la  Rosa  with  her,  but  the  novelist 
dissuaded  her  from  this. 

Madame  Merlin  was  a  friend  of  Madame  de  Girardin, 
and  ridiculed  the  Princesse  Belgiojoso  when  these  two 
were  rival  candidates  for  the  presidency  of  the  new  Acad- 
emy that  was  being  formed. 

During  Madame  Hanska's  secret  visit  to  Paris  in 
1847,  Balzac  declined  an  invitation  to  dinner  with  Madame 
Merlin,  excusing  himself  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  time, 
but  promised  to  call  upon  her  soon.  A  few  months 
before  this  (1846),  he  dedicated  to  her  Les  Mar  ana, 
a  short  story  written  in  1832.  Juana  is  inscribed  to  her 
also. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS    149 

As  has  been  seen,  Balzac  frequently  depicted  the  fea- 
tures, lives  or  peculiarities  of  various  friends  under  al- 
tered names,  but  toward  the  close  of  Beatrix  he  laid  aside 
all  disguise  in  comparing  the  appearance  of  one  of  his 
famous  women  to  the  beauty  of  the  Countess :  "  Madame 
Schontz  owed  her  fame  as  a  beauty  to  the  brilliancy  and 
color  of  a  warm,  creamy  complexion  like  a  Creole's,  a 
face  full  of  original  details,  with  the  clean-cut,  firm  fea- 
tures, of  which  the  Countess  de  Merlin  was  the  most  fa- 
mous example  and  the  most  perennially  young  .  .  ." 

In  1846,  Balzac  dedicated  Un  Drame  au  Bord  de  la 
Mer,  written  several  years  before,  to  Madame  La  Prin- 
cesse  Caroline  Galitzin  de  Genthod,  nee  Comtesse  Wa- 
lewska.  Balzac  doubtless  met  her  while  visiting  Madame 
Hanska  at  Geneva  in  1834,  as  she  was  living  at  Genthod. 
He  met  a  Princesse  Sophie  Galitzin,  whom  he  considered 
far  more  attractive,  and  later  met  another  Princesse 
Galitzin.  One  of  these  ladies  evidently  aroused  the  sus- 
picions of  Madame  Hanska,  but  the  novelist  assured  her 
that  there  was  no  cause  for  her  anxiety. 

Another  woman  whom  Balzac  honored  with  a  dedica- 
tion of  one  of  his  books,  but  for  whom  he  apparently, 
cared  little,  was  Madame  la  Baronne  de  Rothschild,  wife 
of  the  founder  of  the  banking  house  in  Paris.  Balzac 
had  met  Baron  James  de  Rothschild  and  his  wife  at  Aix, 
where  she  coquetted  with  him.  He  had  business  dealings 
with  this  firm,  and  planned,  several  years  later,  to  present 
to  Madame  de  Rothschild  as  a  New  Year's  greeting  some 
of  his  works  handsomely  bound;  the  volumes  were  de- 


150    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

layed,  and  he  accordingly  made  a  change  in  some  of  his 
business  matters,  for  this  was  evidently  a  gift  with  a 
motive.  The  dedication  to  her  of  L' Enfant  M audit  in 
1846,  as  well  as  that  of  Un  Homme  d'Affcdres  to  her 
husband  in  1845,  was  perhaps  for  financial  reasons  or 
favors,  since  he  never  seemed  to  care  for  the  couple  in 
society. 

In  the  winter  of  1837,  Countess  San-Severino  Porcia 
wrote  from  Paris  to  her  friend  in  Milan,  the  Countess 
Clara  Maffei,  that  Balzac  was  coming  to  her  city,  and  sug- 
gested that  she  receive  him  in  her  salon.  This  distin- 
guished and  cultured  woman  had  visited  the  novelist  in 
Paris,  and  had  been  much  surprised  at  the  kind  of  home  in 
which  he  was  living,  how  like  a  hermit  he  was  secluded 
from  the  world  and  the  persecutions  of  his  creditors;  she 
was  amazed  when  he  received  her  in  his  celebrated  mon- 
astic robe. 

The  Countess  Maffei  retained  her  title  after  her  mar- 
riage (in  1832)  with  the  poet,  Andrea  Maffei,  who  was 
many  years  older  than  she.  She  was  a  great  friend  of 
the  Princess  Belgiojoso,  and  during  the  stirring  times 
of  1848  the  Princess  had  been  a  frequent  visitor  in  her 
salon.  Six  years  younger  than  the  Princess,  the  Countess 
threw  herself  heart  and  soul  into  the  political  and  literary 
life  of  Milan. 

"  For  fifty-two  consecutive  years  (1834-1886)  her  salon 
was  the  rendezvous  not  merely  of  her  compatriots  but  of 
intellectual  Europe.  The  list  of  celebrities  who  thronged 
her  modest  drawing-room  rivals  that  of  Belgiojoso's 
Parisian  salon,  and  includes  many  of  the  same  immortal 
names.  Daniel  Stern,  Balzac,  Manzoni,  Liszt,  Verdi,  and 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     151 

a  score  of  others,  are  of  international  fame;  but  the  annals 
of  Italian  patriotism,  belles-lettres  and  art  teem  with  the 
names  of  men  and  women  who,  during  that  half  century 
of  uninterrupted  hospitality,  sought  guidance,  inspiration 
and  intellectual  entertainment  among  the  politicians,  poets, 
musicians  and  wits  who  congregated  round  the  hostess."  33 

Balzac  arrived  in  Milan  in  February,  1837,  was  well 
received,  and  was  invited  to  the  famous  salon  of  Countess 
Maffei.  The  novelist  was  at  once  charmed  with  his 
hostess,  whom  he  called  la  petite  Maffei,  and  for  whom  he 
soon  began  to  show  a  tender  friendship  which  later  be- 
came blended  with  affection. 

Unfortunately  Balzac  did  not  like  Milan;  only  the 
fascination  of  the  Countess  Maffei  pleased  him.  He 
quarreled  with  the  Princess  San-Severino  Porcia,  who 
would  not  allow  him  to  say  anything  unkind  about  Italy, 
and  was  depressed  when  calling  on  the  Princess  Bolognini, 
who  laughed  at  him  for  it. 

In  the  salon  of  the  Countess  Maffei  the  novelist  pre- 
ferred listening  to  talking;  occasionally  he  would  break 
out  into  sonorous  laughter,  and  would  then  listen  again, 
and  —  in  spite  of  his  excessive  use  of  coffee  —  would  fall 
asleep.  The  Countess  was  often  embarrassed  by  Bal- 
zac's disdainful  expressions  about  people  he  did  not  like 
but  who  were  her  friends.  She  tried  to  please  him,  how- 
ever, and  had  many  of  her  French-speaking  friends  to 
meet  him,  but  he  seemed  most  to  enjoy  tea  with  her  alone. 
Referring  to  her  age,  he  wrote  in  her  album :  "  At 
twenty-three  years  of  age,  all  is  in  the  future."  34 

83  W.  R.  Whitehouse,  A  Revolutionary  Princess,  pp.  278,  279. 

84  Raffaello  Barbiera,  //  Salotto  della  Contessa  Maffei. 


152    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

After  Balzac's  return  to  Paris  he  asked  her,  in  response 
to  one  of  her  letters,  to  please  ascertain  why  the  Princess 
San-Severino  was  angry  with  him.  Later,  he  showed  his 
appreciation  of  her  kindness  by  sending  her  the  corrected 
proofs  of  Martyres  ignores,  and  by  dedicating  to  her  La 
fausse  Maitresse,  published  in  1841.  The  dedication, 
however,  did  not  appear  until  several  months  later. 

In  a  long  and  beautiful  dedication,  Balzac  inscribed 
Les  Employes  to  the  Comtesse  Serafina  San-Severino, 
nee  Porcia,  and  to  her  brother,  Prince  Alfonso  Serafino 
di  Porcia,  he  dedicated  Splendeurs  et  Miseres  des  Cour- 
tisanes,  concerning  which  he  thought  a  great  deal  while 
visiting  in  the  latter's  home  in  Milan.  The  hotel  having 
become  intolerable  to  the  novelist,  he  was  invited  by  Prince 
Porcia  to  occupy  a  little  room  in  his  home,  overlooking  the 
gardens,  where  he  could  work  at  his  ease.  The  Prince,  a 
man  of  about  Balzac's  age,  was  very  much  in  love  with 
the  Countess  Bolognini,  and  was  unwilling  to  marry  at 
all  unless  he  could  marry  her,  but  her  husband  was  still 
living.  The  Prince  lived  only  ten  doors  from  his  Coun- 
tess, and  his  happiness  in  seeing  her  so  frequently,  to- 
gether with  his  riches,  provoked  gloomy  meditations  in 
the  mind  of  the  poor  author,  who  was  so  far  from  his 
Predilecta,  so  overcome  with  debts,  and  forced  to  work  so 
hard. 

To  Madame  la  Comtesse  Bolognini,  nee  Vimercati,  who 
was  afterwards  married  to  Prince  Porcia,  Balzac  dedi- 
cated Une  Fille  d'Eve: 

"If  you  remember,  madame,  the  pleasure  your  con- 
versation gave  to  a  certain  traveler,  making  Paris  live  for 
him  in  Milan,  you  will  not  be  surprised  that  he  should  lay 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS    153 

one  of  his  works  at  your  feet,  as  a  token  of  gratitude  for 
so  many  delightful  evenings  spent  in  your  society,  nor 
that  he  should  seek  for  it  the  shelter  of  your  name  which, 
in  old  times,  was  given  to  not  a  few  of  the  tales  by  one 
of  your  early  writers,  dear  to  the  Milanese.  You  have  a 
Eugenie,  already  beautiful,  whose  clever  smile  proclaims 
her  to  have  inherited  from  you  the  most  precious  gifts  a 
woman  can  possess,  and  whose  childhood,  it  is  certain, 
will  be  rich  in  all  those  joys  which  a  sad  mother  refused 
to  the  Eugenie  of  these  pages.  If  Frenchmen  are  accused 
of  being  frivolous  and  inconstant,  I,  you  see,  am  Italian 
in  my  faithfulness  and  attachments.  How  often,  as  I 
wrote  the  name  of  Eugenie,  have  my  thoughts  carried  me 
back  to  the  cool  stuccoed  drawing-room  and  little  garden 
of  the  Viccolo  dei  Capuccini,  which  used  to  resound  to 
the  dear  child's  merry  laughter,  to  our  quarrels,  and  our 
stories.  You  have  left  the  Corso  for  the  Tre  Monasteri, 
where  I  know  nothing  of  your  manner  of  life,  and  I  am 
forced  to  picture  you,  no  longer  amongst  the  pretty  things, 
which  doubtless  still  surround  you,  but  like  one  of  the 
beautiful  heads  of  Raffaelle,  Titian,  Correggio  or  Allori, 
which,  in  their  remoteness,  seem  to  us  like  abstractions. 
If  this  book  succeed  in  making  its  way  across  the  Alps, 
it  will  prove  to  you  the  lively  gratitude  and  respectful 
friendship  of  your  humble  servant, 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

LA   PRINCESSE  BAGRATION LA   COMTESSE   BOSSI MA- 
DAME KISSELEFF LA  PRINCESSE  DE  SCHONBURG 

MADAME    JAROSLAS    POTOgKA LA    BARONNE    DE 

PFAFFINS LA  COMTESSE  DELPHINE  POTOgKA 

Several  women  whom  Balzac  knew,  but  who  appar- 
ently had  no  special  influence  over  his  life,  are  mentioned 


i54     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

here;  he  evidently  did  not  care  enough  for  them  or  did 
not  know  them  well  enough  to  include  their  names  in  the 
dedicatory  register  of  the  Comedie  humaine.  This,  how- 
ever, by  no  means  exhausts  the  list  of  his  acquaintances 
among  women.  Many  of  them  he  had  met  through  his 
intimacy  with  his  "  Polar  Star  " ;  he  was  indeed  so  popu- 
lar that  he  once  exclaimed  to  her  that  he  was  overwhelmed 
with  Russian  princesses  and  took  to  flight  to  avoid  them. 

The  noted  salon  of  the  charming  Princess  Bagration, 
wife  of  the  Russian  field-marshal,  was  open  to  the  nov- 
elist early  in  his  career.  With  her  aristocratic  ease  and 
the  distinction  of  her  manners,  she  had  been  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  stars  at  Vienna  where  her  salon,  as  at 
Paris,  was  one  of  the  most  popular.  Among  her  inti- 
mate friends  was  Madame  Hamelin  whom  she  had  known 
during  her  stay  in  Vienna.  Notwithstanding  Balzac's 
careless  habits  of  dress,  he  was  welcome  in  this  salon, 
where  the  ladies  enjoyed  the  stories  which  he  told  with 
such  charm,  and  at  which  he  was  always  the  first  to  laugh, 
though  told  against  himself. 

As  has  been  mentioned,  the  Princess  Bagration  passed 
at  Paris  for  the  model  of  Foedora.  If  M.  Gabriel  Ferry 
is  correct,  Balzac  met  the  Duchesse  de  Castries  in  the 
salon  of  the  Princess  Bagration  before  their  correspond- 
ence began,  but  never  talked  to  her  and  did  not  suppose 
that  he  had  attracted  her  attention. 

One  of  Balzac's  acquaintances  whom  he  met  during 
his  visit  to  Madame  Hanska  at  Geneva  was  the  Countess 
Bossi.  He  met  her  again  at  Milan  in  1838,  on  his  return 
from  his  journey  to  Corsica,  but  he  was  not  favorably 
impressed  with  her,  although  he  once  deemed  it  wise  to 


155 

explain  to   his   Chatelaine  his  conduct   relative   to   her. 

Madame  Kisseleff  was  one  of  Madame  Hanska's 
friends  whom  he  probably  met  in  Vienna;  he  dined  at 
her  home  frequently  and  enjoyed  her  company,  for  she 
could  talk  to  him  of  his  Louloup.  She  was  a  friend  of 
Madame  Hamelin,  and  moved  to  Fontainebleau  to  be 
near  her  while  the  latter  was  living  at  La  Madeleine. 
While  living  in  Paris,  Madame  Kisseleff  entertained  Ma- 
dame Hamelin  and  several  other  ladies  together  with 
Balzac;  these  dinners  and  his  visites  de  digestion  caused 
him  to  see  much  of  her  for  awhile,  but  as  in  many  of  his 
other  friendships,  his  ardor  cooled  later,  and  he  went  to 
her  home  only  when  especially  invited.  In  1844,  she 
left  Paris  to  reside  at  Homburg  where  she  built  a  house. 
The  novelist  took  advantage  of  her  friendship  to  send 
articles  to  Madame  Hanska  through  the  Russian  am- 
bassador. 

Balzac  made  visites  de  politesse  to  the  Princesse  de 
Schonburg,  an  acquaintance  of  Madame  Hanska's,  but 
no  more  than  were  required  by  courtesy.  It  would  have 
been  convenient  for  him  to  have  seen  much  of  her,  had  he 
cared  to,  for  she  had  placed  her  child  in  the  same  house 
with  him  on  account  of  its  vicinity  to  the  orthopaedic 
hospital. 

One  of  Madame  Hanska's  friends  whom  Balzac  liked 
was  Madame  Jaroslas  Potocjka,  sister  of  the  Countess 
Schouwaloff.  She  wrote  some  very  pleasing  letters  to 
him,  but  he  was  too  busy  to  answer  them,  so  he  sent  her 
messages,  or  enclosed  notes  to  her  in  his  letters  to  his 
Predilecta. 

La  Baronne  de  Pfaffins,  nee  Comtesse  Mierzciewska, 


156     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

was  a  Polish  lady  whom  Balzac  met  rather  late  in  life. 
He  first  thought  she  was  Madame  Hanska's  cousin,  but 
later  learned  that  it  was  to  M.  de  Hanski  that  she  was 
related.  Her  Polish  voice  reminded  him  so  much  of  his 
Louloup  that  he  was  moved  to  tears;  this  friendship, 
however,  did  not  continue  long. 

Another  acquaintance  from  the  land  of  Balzac's  "  Polar 
Star "  was  Madame  Delphine  Potogka.  She  was  the 
same  Countess  Delphine  Potogka  who  was  a  great  friend 
of  Chopin,  to  whom  he  dedicated  some  of  his  happiest 
inspirations,  and  whose  voice  he  so  loved  that  he  re- 
quested her  to  sing  while  he  was  dying.  Her  box  at  the 
opera  was  near  Balzac's  so  that  he  saw  her  frequently, 
and  dined  with  her,  but  did  not  admire  her. 

MARIA  —  HELENE  —  LOUISE 
§i  To  Maria : 

"  May  your  name,  that  of  one  whose  portrait  is  the 
noblest  ornament  of  this  work,  lie  on  its  opening  page  like 
a  branch  of  sacred  box,  taken  from  an  unknown  tree,  but 
sanctified  by  religion,  and  kept  ever  fresh  and  green  by 
pious  hands  to  protect  the  home. 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

Just  who  is  the  "  Maria  "  to  whom  the  dedication  of 
Eugenie  Grandet  is  addressed  is  a  question  that  in  the 
opinion  of  the  present  writer  has  never  been  satisfactorily 
answered.  The  generally  accepted  answer  is  that  of 
Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  who  thought  that  "  Maria  "  was 
the  girl  whom  Balzac  described  as  a  "  poor,  simple  and 
delightful  bourgeoise,  .  .  .  the  most  na'ive  creature  that 
ever  was,  fallen  like  a  flower  from  heaven,"  and  who  said 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     157 

to  Balzac :     "  Love  me  a  year,  and  I  will  love  you  all  my 
life."  35 

Even  admitting  that  this  much  disputed  letter  of  Oc- 
tober 12,  1833,  was  written  by  Balzac,  though  it  does  not 
bear  his  signature,  the  name  "  Maria  "  does  not  appear 
in  it,  so  it  is  no  proof  that  she  is  the  woman  to  whom 
Balzac  dedicated  one  of  his  greatest  and  probably  the 
most  popular  of  his  works,  Eugenie  Grandet,  although 
the  heroine  has  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  woman 
referred  to  in  that  letter  in  that  she  is  a  "  naive,  simple, 
and  delightful  bourgeoise."  But  in  reviewing  the  women 
to  whom  Balzac  dedicated  his  stories  in  the  Comedie 
humaine,  one  does  not  find  any  of  this  type.  Either  they 
are  members  of  his  family,  old  family  friends,  literary 
friends,  rich  people  to  whom  he  was  indebted,  women  of 
the  nobility,  or  women  whom  he  loved  for  a  time  at  least, 
and  all  were  women  whom  he  could  respect  and  recognize 
in  society,  while  the  woman  referred  to  in  the  letter  of 
October  12,  1833,  does  not  seem  to  have  had  this  last 
qualification. 

In  reply  to  his  sister  Laure's  criticism  that  there  were 
too  many  millions  in  Eugenie  Grandet,  he  insisted  that  the 
story  was  true,  and  that  he  could  create  nothing  better 
than  the  truth.  In  investigating  the  truth  of  this  story,  it 
has  been  found  that  Jean  Niveleau,  a  very  rich  man  hav- 
ing many  of  the  traits  of  Grandet,  lived  at  Saumur,  and 
that  he  had  a  beautiful  daughter  whom  he  is  said  to  have 
refused  to  give  in  marriage  to  Balzac.  Whether  this  be 
true  or  not,  the  novelist  has  screened  some  things  of  a 
personal  nature  in  this  work. 
85  Un  Roman  d' Amour,  pp.  81,  82,  93. 


Although  the  book  is  dated  September,  1833,  he  did 
not  finish  it  until  later.  It  was  just  at  this  time  that  he 
met  Madame  Hanska,  and  visited  her  on  two  different 
occasions ;  during  the  period  that  he  was  working  on  Eu- 
genie Grandet.  As  he  was  pressed  for  money,  as  usual, 
his  Predilecta  offered  to  help  him  financially;  this  he  re- 
fused, but  immortalized  the  offer  by  having  Eugenie  give 
her  gold  to  her  lover. 

In  declining  Madame  Hanska's  offer,  he  writes  her : 

"  Beloved  angel,  be  a  thousand  times  blessed  for  your 
drop  of  water,  for  your  offer ;  it  is  everything  to  me  and 
yet  it  is  nothing.  You  see  what  a  thousand  francs  would 
be  when  ten  thousand  a  month  are  needed.  If  I  could 
find  nine,  I  could  find  twelve.  But  I  should  have  liked, 
in  reading  that  delightful  letter  of  yours,  to  have  plunged 
my  hand  into  the  sea  and  drawn  out  all  its  pearls  to  strew 
them  on  your  beautiful  black  hair.  .  .  .  There  is  a  sublime 
scene  (to  my  mind,  and  I  am  rewarded  for  having  it)  in 
Eugenie  Grandet,  who  offers  her  fortune  to  her  cousin. 
The  cousin  makes  an  answer;  what  I  said  to  you  on  that 
subject  was  more  graceful.  But  to  mingle  a  single  word 
that  I  have  said  to  my  Eve  in  what  others  will  read !  — 
Ah!  I  would  rather  have  flung  Eugenie  Grandet  into  the 
fire !  .  .  .  Do  not  think  there  was  the  least  pride,  the  least 
false  delicacy  in  my  refusal  of  what  you  know  of,  the 
drop  of  gold  you  have  put  angelically  aside.  .  .  ." 36 

The  novelist  not  only  gave  Madame  Hanska  the  manu- 
script of  Eugenie  Grandet,  but  had  her  in  mind  while  writ- 
ing it :  "  One  must  love,  my  Eve,  my  dear  one,  to  write 

88  Lettres  d  Vtttrangere,  v.  i,  pp.  66,  79,  81,  October  29,  November 
12,  1833. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS    159 

the  love  of  Eugenie  Grandet,  a  pure,  immense,  proud 
love!"87 

The  dedication  of  Eugenie  Grandet  to  "  Maria  "  did  not 
appear  until  in  1839.  Balzac  knew  several  persons  named 
"  Marie."  The  present  writer  was  at  one  time  inclined 
to  think  that  this  Marie  might  have  been  the  Countess 
Marie  Potoska,  whom  he  met  while  writing  Eugenie,  but 
her  cousin,  the  Princess  Radziwill,  says  that  she  is  sure 
she  is  not  the  one  he  had  in  mind,  and  that  she  was  not 
the  type  of  woman  to  whom  Balzac  would  ever  have  dedi- 
cated a  book.  The  novelist  had  dealings  with  Madame 
Marie  Dorval,  and  in  1839,  at  the  time  the  dedication  was 
written,  doubtless  knew  of  her  love  for  Jules  Sandeau. 
Balzac  knew  also  the  Countess  Marie  d'Agoult,  but  she 
never  would  have  inspired  such  a  dedication. 

Still  another  "  Marie  "  with  whom  he  was  most  inti- 
mate about  1839,  is  Madame  Helene-Marie-Felicite  de  Va- 
lette,  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  while  she  was  usually 
called  "  Helene,"  "  Marie  "  was  Balzac's  favorite  name 
for  her.  But  it  is  doubtful  that  he  knew  her  when  he 
wrote  the  book. 

Yet  Balzac's  love  was  so  fleeting  that  if  he  had  had  this 
"Maria"  in  mind  in  1833  when  he  wrote  Eugenie,  he 
probably  would  have  long  since  forgotten  her  by  the  time 
the  dedication  was  made.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that 
Balzac  dedicated  many  of  his  earlier  books  to  friends  that 
he  did  not  meet  until  years  later,  and  many  dedications 
were  not  added  until  in  1842. 

"  To  Helene : 

"  The  tiniest  boat  is  not  launched  upon  the  sea  without 
37  Lettres  a  I'fLtrangere,  v.  I,  p.  95,  December  i,  1833. 


160     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

the  protection  of  some  living  emblem  or  revered  name, 
placed  upon  it  by  the  mariners.  In  accordance  with  this 
time-honored  custom,  Madame,  I  pray  you  to  be  the  pro- 
tectress of  this  work  now  launched  upon  our  literary 
ocean ;  and  may  the  imperial  name  which  the  Church  has 
canonized  and  your  devotion  has  doubly  sanctified  for  me 
guard  it  from  peril. 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

The  identity  of  the  enchantress  who  inspired  this  beauti- 
ful dedication  of  Le  Cure  de  Village  has  been  the  subject 
of  much  speculation  for  students  of  Balzac.  The  author 
of  the  Come  die  humaine  knew  the  beautiful  Helene  Zava- 
dovsky  as  early  as  1835,  and,  as  has  been  seen,  knew 
Madame  Helene  de  Valette  in  1836. 

The  Princess  Radziwill  states  that  this  "  Helene  "  was 
a  sister  of  Madame  Hanska,  and  that  she  died  unmarried 
in  1842.  She  was  much  loved  by  all  her  family,  and  after 
the  death  of  her  mother  in  1837  made  her  home  with  her 
sister  Eve  in  Wierzschownia.  The  present  author  has 
found  no  mention  of  her  in  Balzac's  letters  in  connection 
with  Le  Cure  de  Village,  of  which  novel  he  speaks  fre- 
quently, nor  of  his  having  known  her  personally,  but  since 
Balzac  was  continually  twitting  Madame  Hanska  about 
her  pronunciation  of  various  words,  he  was  doubtless  re- 
ferring to  her  sister  Helene's  Russian  pronunciation  when 
he  writes :  "  From  time  to  time,  I  recall  to  mind  all  the 
gowns  I  have  seen  you  wear  from  the  white  and  yellow 
one  that  first  day  at  Peterhof  (Petergoff,  idiome 
ene),  .  .  ,"38 
88  Lettres  &  l'£trang$re,  v.  2,  p.  326,  March  4,  1844. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     161 

While  Balzac  evidently  knew  personally  the  women 
whom  he  had  in  mind  in  the  dedications  to  "  Maria  "  and 
to  "  Helene," — problems  which  have  perplexed  students 
of  Balzac, —  he  found  time  for  correspondence  with  a  lady 
whom  he  never  saw,  and  about  whom  he  knew  nothing 
beyond  the  Christian  name  "  Louise."  The  twenty-three 
letters  addressed  to  her  bear  no  precise  dates,  but  were 
written  in  1836-1837. 

Her  first  letter  was  sent  to  Balzac  through  his  book- 
seller, who  saw  her  seal ;  but  Balzac  allayed,  without  grat- 
ifying, his  curiosity  by  assuring  him  that  such  letters  came 
to  him  frequently.  The  writer  was  under  the  impression 
that  Balzac's  name  was  "  Henry  "  and  some  of  her  cor- 
respondence was  in  English. 

That  he  should  have  taken  the  time  to  write  to  this  un- 
known correspondent  shows  that  her  letters  must  have  pos- 
sessed some  intrinsic  value  for  him,  yet  he  refused  to  learn 
her  identity. 

"  Chance  permitted  me  to  know  who  you  might  be, 
and  I  refused  to  learn.  I  never  did  anything  so  chival- 
rous in  my  life;  no,  never!  I  consider  it  is  grander  than 
to  risk  one's  life  for  an  interview  of  ten  minutes.  Per- 
haps I  may  astonish  you  still  more,  when  I  say  that  I  can 
learn  all  about  you  at  any  moment,  any  hour,  and  yet  I 
refuse  to  learn,  because  you  wish  I  should  not  know !  " 

In  reply  to  a  letter  from  Louise  in  which  she  com- 
plained that  her  time  was  monopolized  by  visits,  he  writes : 

"  Visits !  do  they  leave  behind  them  any  good  for  vou  ? 
For  the  space  of  twelve  years,  an  angelic  woman  stole 


1 62     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

iwo  hours  each  day  from  the  world,  from  the  claims  of 
family,  from  all  the  entanglements  and  hindrances  of 
Parisian  life  —  two  hours  to  spend  them  beside  me  — 
without  any  one  else's  being  aware  of  the  fact ;  for  twelve 
years!  Do  you  understand  all  that  is  contained  in  these 
words?  I  can  not  wish  that  this  sublime  devotedness 
which  has  been  my  salvation  should  be  repeated.  I  desire 
that  you  should  retain  all  your  illusions  about  me  without 
coming  one  step  further ;  and  I  do  not  dare  to  wish  that 
you  should  enter  upon  one  of  these  glorious,  secret,  and 
above  all,  rare  and  exceptional  relationships.  Moreover, 
I  have  a  few  friends  among  women  whom  I  trust  —  not 
more  than  two  or  three  —  but  they  are  of  an  insatiable 
exigence,  and  if  they  were  to  discover  that  I  corresponded 
with  an  inconnue,  they  would  feel  hurt."  " 

He  revealed  to  her  his  ideas  regarding  women  and 
friendship;  how  he  longed  to  possess  a  tender  affection 
which  would  be  a  secret  between  two  alone.  He  com- 
plained of  her  want  of  confidence  in  him,  and  of  his  work 
in  his  loneliness.  She  tried  to  comfort  him,  and  being 
artistic,  sent  him  a  sepia  drawing.  He  sought  a  second 
one  to  hang  on  the  other  side  of  his  fireplace,  and  thus 
replace  two  lithographs  he  did  not  like.  As  a  token  of 
his  friendship,  he  sent  her  a  manuscript  of  one  of  his 
works,  saying : 

"All  this  is  suggested  while  looking  at  your  sepia 
drawing;  and  while  preparing  a  gift,  precious  in  the  sight 
of  those  who  love  me,  and  of  which  I  am  chary,  I  refuse 
it  to  all  who  have  not  deeply  touched  my  heart,  or  who 

89  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  4&-6>.    The  woman  Bal- 
zac reiers  to  here  is  Madame  de  Berny,  but  this  is  an  exaggeration. 


BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  FRIENDS     163 

have  not  done  me  a  service;  it  is  a  thing  of  no  value,  ex- 
cept where  there  is  heartfelt  friendship."  40 

During  his  imprisonment  by  order  of  the  National 
Guard,  she  sent  him  flowers,  for  which  he  was  very  pro- 
fuse in  expressing  his  thanks.  He  appreciated  especially 
the  roses  which  came  on  his  birthday,  and  wished  her  as 
many  tender  things  as  there  were  scents  in  the  blooming 
buds. 

She  apparently  had  some  misfortune,  and  their  corre- 
spondence terminated  abruptly  in  this,  his  last  letter  to  her : 

"  Carina,  .  .  .  On  my  return  from  a  long  and  difficult 
journey,  undertaken  for  the  refreshment  of  my  over-tired 
brain,  I  find  this  letter  from  you,  very  concise,  and  melan- 
choly enough  in  its  solitude;  it  is,  however,  a  token  of  your 
remembrance.  That  you  may  be  happy  is  the  wish  of  my 
heart,  a  very  pure  and  disinterested  wish,  since  you  have 
decided  that  thus  it  is  to  be.  I  once  more  take  up  my 
work,  and  in  that,  as  in  a  battle,  the  struggle  occupies  one 
entirely ;  one  suffers,  but  the  heart  becomes  calm." 

Facine  Cane  was  dedicated  to  Louise : 

"  As  a  mark  of  affectionate  gratitude." 
40  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  59-67. 


CHAPTER  V 
SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS 

MADAME   DE   BERNY 

"  I  have  to  stand  alone  now  amidst  my  troubles ;  for- 
merly I  had  beside  me  in  my  struggles  the  most  courageous 
and  the  sweetest  person  in  the  world,  a  woman  whose 
memory  is  each  day  renewed  in  my  heart,  and  whose  di- 
vine qualities  make  all  other  friendships  when  compared 
with  hers  seem  pale.  I  no  longer  have  help  in  the  diffi- 
culties of  life;  when  I  am  in  doubt  about  any  matter,  I 
have  now  no  other  guide  than  this  fatal  thought,  '  If  she 
were  alive,  what  would  she  say  ? '  Intellects  of  this  or- 
der are  rare."  1 

Balzac  loved  to  seek  the  sympathy  and  confidence  of 
people  whose  minds  were  at  leisure,  and  who  could  interest 
themselves  in  his  affairs.  With  his  artistic  temperament, 
he  longed  for  the  refinement,  society  and  delicate  atten- 
tions which  he  found  in  the  friendships  of  various  women. 
"  The  feeling  of  abandonment  and  of  solitude  in  which  I 
am  stings  me.  There  is  nothing  selfish  in  me ;  but  I  need 
to  tell  my  thoughts,  my  efforts,  my  feelings  to  a  being  who 
is  not  myself;  otherwise  I  have  no  strength.  I  should 
wish  for  no  crown  if  there  were  no  feet  at  which  to  lay 
that  which  men  may  put  upon  my  head."  2 

1  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.   142,   1839.    Letter  to 
Madame  Surville. 

2  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  348,  October,  1836. 

164 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        165 

One  of  the  first  of  these  friendships  was  that  formed 
with  Madame  de  Berny,  nee  ( Laure-Louise- Antoinette) 
Hinner.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  German  musician,  a 
harpist  at  the  court  of  Louis  XVI,  and  of  Louise-Mar- 
guerite-fimelie  Quelpec  de  Laborde,  a  lady  in  waiting  at 
the  court  of  Marie  Antoinette.  M.  Hinner  died  in  1784, 
after  which  Madame  Hinner  was  married  to  Franc,ois- 
Augustin  Reinier  de  Jarjayes,  adjutant-general  of  the 
army.  M.  Jarjayes  was  one  of  the  best  known  persons 
belonging  to  the  Royalist  party  during  the  Revolution,  a 
champion  of  the  Queen,  whom  he  made  many  attempts  to 
save.  He  was  one  of  her  most  faithful  friends,  was  in- 
trusted with  family  keepsakes,  and  was  made  lieutenant- 
general  under  Louis  XVIII.  Madame  Jarjayes  was  much 
loved  by  the  Queen ;  she  was  also  implicated  in  the  plots. 
Before  dying,  Marie  Antoinette  sent  her  a  lock  of  her 
hair  and  a  pair  of  earrings.  Laure  Hinner  was  married 
April  8,  1793,  to  M.  Gabriel  de  Berny,  almost  nine  years 
her  senior,  who  was  of  the  oldest  nobility.  Madame  de 
Berny,  her  husband,  her  mother  and  her  stepfather  were 
imprisoned  for  nine  months,  and  were  not  released  until 
after  the  fall  of  Robespierre. 

The  married  life  of  Madame  de  Berny  was  unhappy; 
she  was  intelligent  and  sentimental;  he,  capricious  and 
morose.  She  seems  to  have  realized  the  type  of  the 
femme  incomprise;  she  too  was  an  etrangere,  and  bore 
some  traits  of  her  German  origin.  Coming  into  Balzac's 
life  at  about  the  age  of  forty,  this  femme  de  quarante  ans 
became  for  him  the  amie  and  the  companion  who  was  to 
teach  him  life.  Still  beautiful,  having  been'  reared  in  inti- 
mate court  circles,  having  been  the  confidante  of  plotters 


1 66     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

andlthe  guardian  of  secrets,  possessed  of  rare  trinkets  and 
souvenirs  —  what  an  open  book  was  this  memoire  vivante, 
and  with  what  passion  did  the  young  interrogator  absorb 
the  pages!  Here  he  found  unknown  anecdotes,  ignored 
designs,  and  here  the  sources  of  his  great  plots,  Les 
Chouans,  Madame  de  la  Chanterie,  and  Un  Episode  sous 
la  Terreur. 

All  this  is  what  she  could  teach  him,  aided  perhaps  by 
her  mother,  who  lived  until  1837.  Here  is  the  secret  of 
Balzac's  royalism;  here  is  where  he  first  learned  of  the 
great  ladies  that  appear  in  his  work,  largely  portrayed  to 
him  by  the  amie  who  watched  over  his  youth  and  guided 
his  maturity. 

Having  consulted  the  Almanack  des  25,000  adr esses, 
Madame  Ruxton  thinks  that  Balzac  met  Madame  de 
Berny  when  the  two  families  lived  near  each  other  in 
Paris ;  M.  de  Berny  and  family  spent  the  summers  in  Vil- 
leparisis,  and  resided  during  the  winters  at  3,  rue  Porte- 
foin,  Paris.  It  is  possible  that  he  met  her  at  the  soirees, 
which  he  frequented  with  his  sisters,  and  where  his  awk- 
wardness provoked  smiles  from  the  ladies.  While  it  is 
generally  supposed  that  they  met  at  Villeparisis,  MM. 
Hanotaux  et  Vicaire  also  believed  that  they  must  have 
known  each  other  before  this,  if  Balzac  is  referring  to 
his  own  life  in  Oeuvres  diver ses:  Une  Passion  au  Col- 
lege. 

Madame  de  Berny  is  first  mentioned  in  Balzac's  cor- 
respondence in  1822  when,  in  writing  his  sister  Laure  the 
general  news,  he  informs  her  that  Madame  de  Berny  has 
become  a  grandmother,  and  that  after  forty  years  of  re- 
flection, realizing  that  money  is  everything,  she  has  in- 


167 

vested  in  grain.  But  he  must  have  met  her  some  time 
before  this,  for  his  family  was  living  in  Villeparisis  as 
early  as  1819. 

M.  de  Berny  bought  in  1815  the  home  of  M.  Michaud 
de  Montzaigle  in  Villeparisis,  and  remained  possessor  of 
it  until  1825.  M.  Parquin,  the  present  owner  of  this 
home,  is  a  Balzacien  who  has  collected  all  the  traditions 
remaining  in  Villeparisis  concerning  the  two  families. 
According  to  Villeparisis  tradition,  Madame  de  Berny 
was  a  woman  of  great  intelligence  who  wrote  much,  and 
her  notes  and  stories  were  not  only  utilized  by  Balzac, 
but  she  was  his  collaborator,  especially  in  writing  the 
Physiologic  du  Manage  and  the  first  part  of  the  Femme 
de  trente  Ans. 

When  Balzac  went  to  Villeparisis  to  reside,  he  became 
tutor  to  his  brother  Henri,  and  it  was  arranged  that  he 
should  also  give  lessons  to  one  of  the  sons  of  M.  and 
Madame  de  Berny.  Thus  Balzac  probably  saw  her  daily 
and  was  struck  by  her  patience  and  kindness  toward  her 
husband.  She  was  apparently  a  gentle  and  sympathetic 
woman  who  understood  Balzac  as  did  no  one  else,  and 
who  ignored  her  own  troubles  and  sufferings  for  fear  of 
grieving  him  in  the  midst  of  his  struggles. 

It  was  owing  to  the  strong  recommendation  of  M.  de 
Berny,  councilor  at  the  Court  at  Paris,  that  Balzac  ob- 
tained in  the  spring  of  1826  his  royal  authorization  to 
establish  himself  as  a  printer.  During  the  year  1825- 
1826,  Madame  de  Berny  loaned  Balzac  9250  francs;  after 
his  failure,  she  entered  in  name  into  the  type-foundry  as- 
sociation of  Laurent  et  Balzac.  She  advanced  to  Balzac 
a  total  of  45,000  francs,  and  established  her  son,  Alex- 


1 68     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

andre  de  Berny,  in  the  house  where  her  protege  had  been 
unsuccessful. 

Though  Balzac  states  that  he  paid  her  in  full,  he  can 
not  be  relied  upon  when  he  is  dealing  with  figures,  and 
MM.  Hanotaux  et  Vicaire  question  this  statement  in  re- 
lating the  incident  told  by  M.  Arthur  Rhone,  an  old  friend 
of  the  de  Berny  family.  M.  de  Berny  told  M.  Rhone  that 
the  famous  bust  of  Flore  cost  him  1500  francs.  One  day 
while  visiting  Balzac,  his  host  told  him  to  take  whatever 
he  liked  as  a  reimbursement,  since  he  could  not  pay  him. 
M.  de  Berny  took  some  trifle,  and  after  Balzac's  death,  M. 
Charles  Tuleu,  knowing  his  fondness  for  the  bust  of 
Flore,  brought  it  to  him  as  a  souvenir  of  their  common 
friend.  This  might  explain  also  why  M.  de  Berny  pos- 
sessed a  superb  clock  and  other  things  coming  from 
Balzac's  collection.3 

It  was  while  Balzac  was  living  in  a  little  apartment  in 
the  rue  des  Marais  that  his  Dilecta  began  her  daily  visits, 
which  continued  so  long,  and  which  made  such  an  im- 
pression on  him.4 

Madame  de  Berny  was  of  great  help  to  Balzac  in  -the 
social  world  and  was  perhaps  instrumental  in  developing 
the  friendship  between  him  and  the  Duchesse  de  Castries. 
It  was  the  Due  de  Fitz-James  who  asked  Balzac  (1832) 
to  write  a  sort  of  program  for  the  Royalist  party,  and 
later  (1834),  wished  him  to  become  a  candidate  for 
deputy.  This  Due  de  Fitz-James  was  the  nephew  of  the 

8  La  Jeunesse  de  Balzac,  pp.  46,  47.  For  details  of  the  financial 
dealings  between  Madame  de  Berny  and  Balzac,  see  this  admirable 
work  which  has  been  freely  used. 

4  Madame  Ruxton,  La  Dilecta  de  Balzac,  p.  97.  Many  details  con- 
cerning Madame  de  Berny  have  been  taken  from  this  excellent  work. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        169 

godmother  of  Madame  de  Berny.  It  was  to  please  him 
and  the  Duchesse  de  Castries  that  Balzac  published  a 
beautiful  page  about  the  Duchesse  d'Angouleme. 

Although  Madame  de  Berny  was  of  great  help  to  Bal-i/ 
zac  in  the  financial  and  social  worlds,  of  greater  value  was 
her  literary  influence  over  him.  With  good  judgment 
and  excellent  taste  she  writes  him :  "  Act,  my  dear,  as 
though  the  whole  multitude  sees  you  from  all  sides  at  the 
height  where  you  will  be  placed,  but  do  not  cry  to  it  to 
admire  you,  for,  on  all  sides,  the  strongest  magnifying 
glasses  will  instantly  be  turned  on  you,  and  how  does  the 
most  delightful  object  appear  when  seen  through  the  mi- 
croscope ?  " 

She  had  had  great  experience  in  life,  had  suffered 
much  and  had  seen  many  cruel  things,  but  she  brought 
Balzac  consolation  for  all  his  pains  and  a  confidence  and 
serenity  of  which  his  appreciation  is  beautifully  ex- 
pressed : 

"  I  should  be  most  unjust  if  I  did  not  say  that  from 
1823  to  1833  an  angel  sustained  me  through  that  horrible 
struggle.  Madame  de  Berny,  though  married,  was  like  a 
God  to  me.  She  was  a  mother,  friend,  family,  counselor ; 
she  made  the  writer,  she  consoled  the  young  man,  she 
created  his  taste,  she  wept  like  a  sister,  she  laughed,  she 
came  daily,  like  a  beneficent  sleep,  to  still  his  sorrows. 
She  did  more;  though  under  the  control  of  a  husband, 
she  found  means  to  lend  me  as  much  as  forty-five  thou- 
sand francs,  of  which  I  returned  the  last  six  thousand  in 
1836,  with  interest  at  five  per  cent.,  be  it  understood. 
But  she  never  spoke  to  me  of  my  debt,  except  now  and 
then ;  without  her,  I  should,  assuredly,  be  dead.  She  often 


1 7o     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

divined  that  I  had  eaten  nothing  for  days;  she  provided 
for  all  with  angelic  goodness;  she  encouraged  that  pride 
which  preserves  a  man  from  baseness, —  for  which  to-day 
my  enemies  reproach  me,  calling  it  a  silly  satisfaction  in 
myself  —  the  pride  that  Boulanger  has,  perhaps,  pushed 
to  excess  in  my  portrait."  5 


I 


Balzac's  conception  of  woman  was  formed  largely  from 
his  association  with  Madame  de  Berny  in  his  early  man- 
hood, and  a  reflection  of  these  ideas  is  seen  throughout  his 
works.  It  was  probably  to  give  Madame  de  Berny  pleas- 
ure that  he  painted  the  mature  beauties  which  won  for 
him  so  many  feminine  admirers. 

It  is  doubtless  Madame  de  Berny  whom  Balzac  had  in 
mind  when  in  Madame  Firmiani  he  describes  the  heroine : 

"  Have  you  ever  met,  for  your  happiness,  some  woman 
whose  harmonious  tones  give  to  her  speech  the  charm  that 
is  no  less  conspicuous  in  her  manners,  who  knows  how  to 
talk  and  to  be  silent,  who  cares  for  you  with  delicate  feel- 
ing, whose  words  are  happily  chosen  and  her  language 
pure?  Her  banter  caresses  you,  her  criticism  does  not 
sting;  she  neither  preaches  nor  disputes,  but  is  interested 
in  leading  a  discussion,  and  stops  at  the  right  moment. 
Her  manner  is  friendly  and  gay,  her  politeness  is  un- 
forced, her  earnestness  is  not  servile ;  she  reduces  respect 
to  a  mere  gentle  shade;  she  never  tires  you,  and  leaves 
you  satisfied  with  her  and  yourself.  You  will  see  her 
gracious  presence  stamped  on  the  things  she  collects  about 
her.  In  her  home  everything  charms  the  eye,  and  you 
breathe,  as  it  seems,  your  native  air.  This  woman  is 
quite  natural.  You  never  feel  an  effort,  she  flaunts  noth- 

5  Lettres  a  1'Etra.ngere,  v.  i,  p.  418,  July  19,  1837. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        171 

ing,  her  feelings  are  expressed  with  simplicity  because 
they  are  genuine.  Though  candid,  she  never  wounds  the 
most  sensitive  pride ;  she  accepts  men  as  God  made  them, 
pitying  the  vicious,  forgiving  defects  and  absurdities, 
sympathizing  with  every  age,  and  vexed  with  nothing 
because  she  has  the  tact  of  foreseeing  everything.  At 
once  tender  and  gay,  she  first  constrains  and  then  consoles 
you.  You  love  her  so  truly  that  if  this  angel  does  wrong, 
you  are  ready  to  justify  her.  Such  was  Madame  Fir- 
miani." 

It  was  to  Madame  de  Berny's  son,  Alexandra,  that  Bal- 
zac dedicated  Madame  Firmiani,  and  he  no  doubt  recog- 
nized the  portrait. 

Balzac  often  portrayed  his  own  life  and  his  association 
with  women  in  his  works.  In  commenting  on  La  Peau  de 
Chagrin,  he  writes : 

"  Pauline  is  a  real  personage  for  me,  only  more  lovely 
than  I  could  describe  her.  If  I  have  made  her  a  dream, 
it  is  because  I  did  not  wish  my  secret  to  be  discovered."  6 

And  again,  in  writing  of  Louis  Lambert: 

"  You  know  when  you  work  in  tapestry,  each  stitch  is  a 
thought.  Well,  each  line  in  this  new  work  has  been  for 
me  an  abyss.  It  contains  things  that  are  secrets  between 
it  and  me." 7 

In  portraying  the  yearnings  and  sufferings  of  Louis 
Lambert  (Louis  Lambert},  of  Felix  de  Vandenesse  (Le 

6  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  I,  p.  241,  October  5,  1831.    Let- 
ter to  the  Duchesse  de  Castries. 

7  Ibid.,  v.  i,  p.  347,  January  25,  1833.    Letter  to  Madame  Carraud. 


1 72     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Lys  dans  la  bailee}  and  of  Raphael  (La  Peau  de  Cha- 
grin), Balzac  is  picturing  his  own  life.  Pauline  de  Vil- 
lenoix  (Louis  Lambert}  and  Pauline  Gaudin  (La  Peau  de 
Chagrin}  are  possibly  drawn  from  the  same  woman  and 
have  many  characteristics  of  Madame  de  Berny.  Ma- 
dame de  Mortsauf  (Le  Lys  dans  la  Vallee}  is  Pauline, 
though  not  so  outspoken.  Then,  is  it  not  La  Dilecta 
whom  the  novelist  had  in  mind  when  Louis  Lambert 
writes : 

"  When  I  lay  my  head  on  your  knees,  I  could  wish  to 
attract  to  you  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world,  just  as  I  long 
to  concentrate  in  my  love  every  idea,  every  power  within 
me"; 

and  near  the  end  of  life,  could  not  Madame  de  Berny  say 
as  did  Pauline  in  the  closing  lines  of  Louis  Lambert: 

"  His  heart  was  mine ;  his  genius  is  with  God  "  ? 

The  year  1832  was  a  critical  one  in  the  private  life  of 
Balzac.  Madame  de  Berny,  more  than  twenty  years  his 
senior,  felt  that  they  should  sever  their  close  connection 
and  remain  as  friends  only.  Balzac's  family  had  long 
been  opposed  to  this  intimate  relationship  and  had  re- 
peatedly tried  to  find  a  rich  wife  for  him.  Madame  de 
^  Castries,  who  had  begun  an  anonymous  correspondence 
with  him,  revealed  her  identity  early  in  that  year,  and  the 
first  letter  from  1'fitrangere,  who  was  soon  to  over-shadow 
all  his  other  loves,  arrived  February  28,  1832.  During 
the  same  period  Mademoiselle  de  Trumilly  rejected  his 
hand.  With  so  many  distractions,  Balzac  probably  did 
not  suffer  from  this  separation  as  did  his  Dilecta.  But  he 
never  forgot  her,  and  constantly  compared  other  women 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        173 

with  her,  much  to  their  detriment.  He  regarded  her,  in- 
deed, as  a  woman  of  great  superiority. 

In  June  (1832),  Balzac  left  Paris  to  spend  several 
weeks  with  his  friends,  M.  and  Mme.  de  Margonne,  and 
there  at  their  chateau  de  Sache,  he  wrote  Louis  Lambert 
as  a  sort  of  farewell  of  soul  to  soul  to  the  woman  he  had 
so  loved,  and  whose  equal  in  devotion  he  never  found. 
In  memory  of  his  ten  years'  intimacy  with  her,  he  dedi- 
cated this  work  to  her :  Et  nunc  et  semper  dilectae  dica- 
tum  1822-1832.  It  is  to  her  also,  that  he  gave  the  beauti- 
ful Deveria  portrait,  resplendent  with  youth  and  strength.8 

M.  Brunetiere  has  suggested  that  the  woman  whose 
traits  best  recall  Madame  de  Berny  is  Marguerite  Claes, 
the  victim  in  La  Recherche  de  I'Absolu,  while  the  nature 
of  Balzac's  affection  for  this  great  friend  of  his  youth  has 
not  been  better  expressed  than  in  Balthasar  Claes,  she  al- 
ways ready  to  sacrifice  all  for  him,  and  he,  as  Balthasar, 
always  ready,  in  the  interest  of  his  "  grand  work,"  to  rob 
her  and  make  her  desperate  while  loving  her.  However, 
Balzac  states,  in  speaking  of  Madame  de  Berny: 

"  At  any  moment  death  may  take  from  me  an  angel 
who  has  watched  over  me  for  fourteen  years;  she,  too,  a 
flower  of  solitude,  whom  the  world  had  never  touched, 
and  who  has  been  my  star.  My  work  is  not  done  with- 
out tears !  The  attentions  due  to  her  cast  uncertainty 
upon  any  time  of  which  I  could  dispose,  though  she  her- 
self unites  with  the  doctor  in  advising  me  some  strong 

8  MM.  Hanotaux  et  Vicaire,  op.  cit.,  p.  49,  think  that  it  is  Ma- 
dame de  Berny  who  was  weighing  on  Balzac's  soul  when  he  re- 
lates, in  Le  Cure  de  Village,  the  tragic  story  of  the  young  workman 
who  dies  from  love  without  opening  his  lips. 


i74     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

diversions.  She  pushes  friendship  so  far  as  to  hide  her 
sufferings  from  me;  she  tries  to  seem  well  for  me.  You 
understand  that  I  have  not  drawn  Claes  to  do  as  he ! 
Great  God!  what  changes  in  her  have  been  wrought  in 
two  months !  I  am  overwhelmed."  9 

M.  Le  Breton  has  suggested  that  Madame  de  Berny  is 
Catherine  in  La  Derniere  Fee,  Madame  d'Aiglemont  in 
La  Femme  de  trente  Ans,  and  Madame  de  Beauseant  in  La 
Femme  abandonnee,  and  has  strengthened  this  last  state- 
ment by  pointing  out  that  Gaston  de  Nueil  came  to 
Madame  de  Beauseant  after  she  had  been  deserted  by  her 
lover,  the  Marquis  d'Ajuda-Pinto,  just  as  the  youthful 
Balzac  came  to  Madame  de  Berny  after  she  had  had  a 
lover. 

It  is  doubtless  to  this  friendship  that  Balzac  refers  when 
he  writes  in  the  last  lines  of  La  Duchesse  de  Langeais: 
"  It  is  only  the  last  love  of  a  woman  that  can  satisfy  the 
first  love  of  a  man."  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  An- 
toinette is  the  Christian  name  of  the  heroine  of  this  story. 
Throughout  the  Comedie  humaine  are  seen  quite  young 
men  who  fall  in  love  with  women  well  advanced  in  years, 
as  Calyste  de  Guenic  with  Mademoiselle  Felicite  des 
Touches  in  Beatrix,  and  Lucien  de  Rubempre  with  Ma- 
dame Bargeton  in  Illusions  perdues. 

In  Eugenie  Grandet  Balzac  writes : 

"  Do  you  know  what  Madame  Campam  used  to  say  to 
us  ?  '  My  children,  so  long  as  a  man  is  a  Minister,  adore 
him;  if  he  falls,  help  to  drag  him  to  the  ditch.  Powerful, 

9  Lettres  a  I'fLtrangere,  v.  I,  p.  220,  December  22,  1834.  Madame 
Claes  bears  many  of  the  characteristics  of  Madame  de  Berny  in  her 
silent  suffering. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        175 

he  is  a  sort  of  deity;  ruined,  he  is  below  Marat  in  his 
sewer,  because  he  is  alive,  and  Marat,  dead.  Life  is  a 
series  of  combinations,  which  must  be  studied  and  fol- 
lowed if  a  good  position  is  to  be  successfully  main- 
tained/ " 

Since  Madame  Campan  was  -femme  de  chambre  of 
Marie  Antoinette,  Balzac  probably  heard  this  maxim 
through  Madame  de  Berny. 

Although  some  writers  state  that  Madame  de  Berny 
was  one  of  Balzac's  collaborators  in  composing  the  Physi- 
ologic du  Manage,  he  says,  regarding  this  work :  "  I 
undertook  the  Physiologic  du  Manage  and  the  Peau  de 
Chagrin  against  the  advice  of  that  angel  whom  I  have 
lost."  10  She  may  have  inspired  him,  however,  in  writ- 
ing Le  Cure  de  Tours,  as  it  is  dated  at  her  home,  Saint- 
Firmin,  1832. 

In  1833  Balzac  wrote  Madame  Hanska  that  he  had 
dedicated  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Scenes  de  la  Vie  privee 
to  her,  putting  her  seal  at  the  head  of  I' Expiation,  the  last 
chapter  of  La  Femme  de  trente  Ans,  which  he  was  writing 
at  the  moment  he  received  her  first  letter.  But  a  person 
who  was  as  a  mother  to  him  and  whose  caprices  and  even 
jealousy  he  was  bound  to  respect,  had  exacted  that  this 
silent  testimony  should  be  suppressed.  He  had  the  sin- 
cerity to  avow  to  her  both  the  dedication  and  its  destruc- 
tion, because  he  believed  her  to  have  a  soul  sufficiently 
lofty  not  to  desire  homage  which  would  cause  grief  to  one 
as  noble  and  grand  as  she  whose  child  he  was,  for  she  had 
rescued  him  when  in  youth  he  had  nearly  perished  in  the 

10  Lettres  &  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  469,  March  26,  1836. 


176     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

midst  of  griefs  and  shipwreck.  He  had  saved  the  only 
copy  of  that  dedication,  for  which  he  had  been  blamed  as 
if  it  were  a  horrible  coquetry,  and  wished  her  to  keep  it  as 
a  souvenir  and  as  an  expression  of  his  thanks. 

Balzac  was  ever  loyal  to  Madame  de  Berny  and  re- 
fused to  reveal  her  baptismal  name  to  Madame  Hanska; 
soon  after  their  correspondence  began  he  wrote  her: 
"  You  have  asked  me  the  baptismal  name  of  the  Dilecta. 
In  spite  of  my  complete  and  blind  faith,  in  spite  of  my 
sentiment  for  you,  I  cannot  tell  it  to  you ;  I  have  never  told 
it.  Would  you  have  faith  in  me  if  I  told  it?  No."11 

After  1834  Madame  de  Berny's  health  failed  rapidly, 
and  her  last  days  were  full  of  sorrow.  Among  her  nu- 
merous family  trials  Balzac  enumerates : 

"  One  daughter  become  insane,  another  daughter  dead, 
the  third  dying,  what  blows!  —  And  a  wound  more  vio- 
lent still,  of  which  nothing  can  be  told.  Finally,  after 
thirty  years  of  patience  and  devotion,  forced  to  separate 
from  her  husband  under  pain  of  dying  if  she  remained  a 
few  days  longer.  All  this  in  a  short  space  of  time.  This 
is  what  I  suffer  through  the  heart  that  created  me.  .  .  . 
Madame  de  Berny  is  much  better;  she  has  borne  a  last 
shock,  the  illness  of  a  beloved  son  whose  brother  has  gone 
to  bring  him  home  from  Belgium.  .  .  .  Suddenly,  the 
only  son  who  resembles  her,  a  young  man  handsome  as  the 
day,  tender  and  spiritual  like  herself,  like  her  full  of 
noble  sentiments,  fell  ill,  and  ill  of  a  cold  which  amounts 
to  an  affection  of  the  lungs.  The  only  child  out  of  nine 
with  whom  she  can  sympathize!  Of  the  nine,  only  four 
remain;  and  her  youngest  daughter  has  become  hys- 
terically insane,  without  any  hope  of  cure.  That  blow 
11  Lettres  a  f£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  16,  March,  1833. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       177 

nearly  killed  her.  I  was  correcting  the  Lys  beside  her; 
but  my  affection  was  powerless  even  to  temper  this  last 
blow.  Her  son  (twenty-three  years  old)  was  in  Belgium, 
where  he  was  directing  an  establishment  of  great  im- 
portance. His  brother  Alexandre  went  for  him,  and  he 
arrived  a  month  ago,  in  a  deplorable  condition.  This 
mother,  without  strength,  almost  expiring,  sits  up  at  night 
to  nurse  Armand.  She  has  nurses  and  doctors.  She 
implores  me  not  to  come  and  not  to  write  to  her."  12 

Some  secret  pertaining  to  Madame  de  Berny  remains 
untold.  In  1834  Balzac  writes  Madame  Hanska:  "  The 
greatest  sorrows  have  overwhelmed  Madame  de  Berny. 
She  is  far  from  me,  at  Nemours,  where  she  is  dying  of  her 
troubles.  I  cannot  write  you  about  them ;  they  are  things 
that  can  only  be  spoken  of  with  the  greatest  secrecy."  He 
might  have  revealed  this  secret  to  her  in  1835  when  he 
visited  her  in  Vienna;  the  following  secret,  however,  is 
not  explained  in  subsequent  letters,  and  Balzac  did  not  see 

12Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  I,  pp.  187,  278,  282,  August  25,  1834, 
October,  1835,  November  22,  1835.  Various  writers  in  speaking  of 
Madame  de  Berny,  state  that  she  had  eight  children;  others,  nine. 
Balzac  remarks  frequently  that  she  had  nine.  Among  others, 
Madame  Ruxton  says  that  she  had  eight.  She  gives  their  names  and 
dates  of  birth.  The  explanation  of  this  difference  is  probably  found 
in  the  following :  "  I  am  going  to  fulfil  a  rather  sad  duty  this  morn- 
ing. The  daughter  of  Madame  de  B  .  .  .  and  of  Campi  .  .  .  asks 
for  me.  In  1824,  they  wished  me  to  marry  her.  She  was  bewitch- 
ingly  beautiful,  a  flower  of  Bengal!  After  twenty  years,  I  am  go- 
ing to  see  her  again !  At  forty  years  of  age!  She  asks  a  service  of 
me ;  doubtless  a  literary  ambition !  .  .  .  I  am  going  there.  .  .  .  Three 
o'clock.  I  was  sure  of  it!  I  have  seen  Julie,  to  whom  and  for 
whom  I  wrote  the  verses :  '  From  the  midst  of  those  torrents  of 
glory  and  of  light,  etc. : '  which  are  in  Illusions  perdues.  .  .  ." 
Lettres  a  I'Strangere,  v.  2,  p.  331,  March  16,  17,  1844.  Neither  the 
name  Julie  nor  the  date  of  her  birth  is  given  by  Madame  Ruxton. 


1 78     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Madame  Hanska  again  until  seven  years  later,  in  St. 
Petersburg : 

"  I  have  much  distress,  even  enormous  distress  in  the 
direction  of  Madame  de  Berny;  not  from  her  directly, 
but  from  her  family.  It  is  not  of  a  nature  to  be  written. 
Some  evening  at  Wierzchownia,  when  the  heart  wounds 
are  scars,  I  will  tell  it  to  you  in  murmurs  so  that  the  spiders 
cannot  hear,  and  so  that  my  voice  can  go  from  my  lips 
to  your  heart.  They  are  dreadful  things,  which  dig  into 
life  to  the  bone,  deflowering  all,  and  making  one  distrust 
all,  except  you  for  whom  I  reserve  these  sighs."  13 

Though  Madame  de  Berny  may  have  been  jealous  of 
other  women  in  her  earlier  association  with  Balzac,  she 
evidently  changed  later,  for  he  writes : 

"  Alas !  Madame  de  Berny  is  no  better.  The  malady 
makes  frightful  progress,  and  I  cannot  express  to  you 
how  grand,  noble  and  touching  this  soul  of  my  life  has 
been  in  these  days  measured  by  illness,  and  with  what 
fervor  she  desires  that  another  be  to  me  what  she  has  been. 
She  knows  the  inward  spring  and  nobility  that  the  habit 
of  carrying  all  things  to  an  idol  gives  me.  My  God  is  on 
earth."  " 

Contrary  to  his  family,  Madame  Carraud  sympathized 
with  Balzac  in  his  devotion  to  Madame  de  Berny,  and  in- 
vited them  to  be  her  guests.  In  accepting  he  writes : 

"  Her  life  is  so  much  bound  up  in  mine !     Ah,  no  one 

13  Lettres  a  I'fttrangere,  v.  I,  p.  161,  June  3,  1834,  pp.  323,  324,  April 
30,  1836. 

14  Lettres  a  l'£.trangere,  v.  I,  p.  231,  February  10,  1835. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       179 

can  form  any  true  idea  of  this  deep  attachment  which 
sustains  me  in  all  my  work,  and  consoles  me  every  moment 
in  all  I  suffer.  You  can  understand  something  of  this, 
you  who  know  so  well  what  friendship  is,  you  who  are 
so  affectionate,  so  good.  ...  I  thank  you  beforehand  for 
your  offer  of  Frapesle  to  her.  There,  amid  your  flowers, 
and  in  your  gentle  companionship,  and  the  country  life,  if 
convalescence  is  possible,  and  I  venture  to  hope  for  it, 
she  will  regain  life  and  health."  15 

He  apparently  did  not  receive  such  sympathy  from 
Madame  Hanska  in  their  early  correspondence : 

"  Why  be  displeased  about  a  woman  fifty-eight  years 
old,  who  is  a  mother  to  me,  who  folds  me  in  her  heart 
and  protects  me  from  stings?  Do  not  be  jealous  of  her; 
she  would  be  so  glad  of  our  happiness.  She  is  an  angel, 
sublime.  There  are  angels  of  earth  and  angels  of  heaven ; 
she  is  of  heaven."  16 

Madame  de  Berny's  illness  continued  to  grow  more  and 
more  serious.  The  reading  of  the  second  number  of  Pere 
Goriot  affected  her  so  much  that  she  had  another  heart  at- 
tack. But  as  her  illness  and  griefs  changed  and  withered 
her,  Balzac's  affection  for  her  redoubled.  He  did  not 
realize  how  rapidly  she  was  failing,  for  she  did  not  wish 
him  to  see  her  unless  she  felt  well  and  could  appear  at- 
tractive. On  his  return  to  France  from  a  journey  to 
Italy  with  Madame  Marbouty,  he  was  overcome  with 
grief  at  the  news  of  the  death  of  Madame  de  Berny.  He 
found  on  his  table  a  letter  from  her  son  Alexandre  briefly 
announcing  his  mother's  death. 

15  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  387,  December,  1833. 

16  Lettres  a  l'£.trangere,  v.  i,  p.  37,  August,  1833. 


i8o     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

But  the  novelist  did  not  cease  to  respect  her  criticism : 

"  I  resumed  my  work  this  morning ;  I  am  obeying  the 
last  words  that  Madame  de  Berny  wrote  me ;  4 1  can  die ; 
I  am  sure  that  you  have  upon  your  brow  the  crown  I 
wished  there.  The  Lys  is  a  sublime  work,  without  spot 
or  flaw.  Only,  the  death  of  Madame  de  Mortsauf  does 
not  need  those  horrible  regrets;  they  injure  the  beautiful 
letter  she  writes.'  Therefore,  to-day  I  have  piously  ef- 
faced a  hundred  lines,  which,  according  to  many  persons, 
disfigure  that  creation.  I  have  not  regretted  a  single 
word,  and  each  time  that  my  pen  was  drawn  through  one 
of  them,  never  was  heart  of  man  more  deeply  stirred. 
I  thought  I  saw  that  grand  and  sublime  woman,  that  angel 
of  friendship,  before  me,  smiling  as  she  smiled  to  me  when 
I  used  a  strength  so  rare, —  the  strength  to  cut  off  one's 
own  limb  and  feel  neither  pain  nor  regret  in  correcting,  in 
conquering  one's  self."  17 

Balzac  was  sincere  in  his  friendship  with  Madame  de 
Berny,  and  never  ceased  to  revere  her  memory.  The 
following  appreciations  of  her  worth  are  a  few  of  the  nu- 
merous beautiful  tributes  he  has  paid  her: 

"  I  have  lost  the  being  whom  I  love  most  in  the,  world. 
.  .  .  She  whom  I  have  lost  was  more  than  a  mother, 
more  than  a  friend,  more  than  any  human  creature  can  be 
to  another;  it  can  only  be  expressed  by  the  word  divine. 
She  sustained  me  through  storms  of  trouble  by  word  and 
deed  and  entire  devotedness.  If  I  am  alive  this  day,  it  is 
to  her  that  it  is  due.  She  was  everything  to  me;  and 
although  during  the  last  two  years,  time  and  illness  kept 
us  apart,  we  saw  each  other  through  the  distance.  She 
17  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  376,  January  15,  1837. 


inspired  me;  she  was  for  me  a  spiritual  sun.  Madame  de 
Mortsauf  in  Le  Lys  dans  la  Vallee,  only  faintly  shadows 
forth  some  of  the  slighter  qualities  of  this  woman;  there 
is  but  a  very  pale  reflection  of  her,  for  I  have  a  horror 
of  unveiling  my  own  private  emotions  to  the  public,  and 
nothing  personal  to  myself  will  ever  be  known."  18 

"  Madame  de  Berny  is  dead.  I  can  say  no  more  on 
that  point.  My  sorrow  is  not  of  a  day ;  it  will  react  upon 
my  whole  life.  For  a  year  I  had  not  seen  her,  nor  did 
I  see  her  in  her  last  moments.  .  .  .  She,  who  was  always 
so  lovingly  severe  to  me,  acknowledged  that  the  Lys  was 
one  of  the  finest  books  in  the  French  language ;  she  decked 
herself  at  last  with  the  crown  which,  fifteen  years  earlier, 
I  had  promised  her,  and,  always  coquettish,  she  imperi- 
ously forbade  me  to  visit  her,  because  she  would  not  have 
me  near  her  unless  she  were  beautiful  and  well.  The 
letter  deceived  me.  .  .  .  When  I  was  wrecked  the  first 
time,  in  1828,  I  was  only  twenty-nine  years  old  and  I  had 
an  angel  at  my  side.  .  .  .  There  is  a  blank  which  has 
saddened  me.  The  adored  is  here  no  longer.  Every  day 
I  have  occasion  to  deplore  the  eternal  absence.  Would 
you  believe  that  for  six  months  I  have  not  been  able  to 
go  to  Nemours  to  bring  away  the  things  that  ought  to  be 
in  my  sole  possession  ?  Every  week  I  say  to  myself,  '  It 
shall  be  this  week !...'!  was  very  unhappy  in  my  youth, 
but  Madame  de  Berny  balanced  all  by  an  absolute  devo- 
tion, which  was  understood  to  its  full  extent  only  when 
the  grave  had  seized  its  prey.  Yes,  I  was  spoiled  by  that 
angel."  19 

So  faithful  was  Balzac  to  the  memory  of  his  Dilecta 

18  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  65.     Letter  to  Louise. 

19  Lettres  a  I'&trangere,  v.  i,  pp.  340,  341,  August  22,  1836,  p.  346, 
December  30,  1836,  p.  376,  January  15,  1837,  p.  485,  August  8,  1838 
Madame  de  Berny  died  July  27,  1836. 


1 82     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

that  nine  years  after  her  death,  he  was  deeply  affected  on 
seeing  at  the  Cour  d'Assises  a  woman  about  forty-five 
years  of  age,  who  strongly  resembled  Madame  de  Berny, 
and  who  was  being  arraigned  for  deeds  caused  by  her  de- 
votion to  a  reckless  youth. 

LA  DUCHESSE  DE  CASTRIES. MADEMOISELLE  DE 

TRUMILLY 

"  He  who  has  not  seen,  at  some  ball  of  Madame, 
Duchesse  de  Berry,  glide  airy,  scarcely  touching  the  floor, 
so  moving  that  one  perceived  in  her  only  grace  before 
knowing  whether  she  was  a  beauty,  a  young  woman  with 
blond,  deep-golden  hair ;  he  who  has  not  seen  appear  then 
the  young  Marquise  de  Castries  in  a  fete,  cannot,  with- 
out doubt,  form  an  idea  of  this  new  beauty,  charming, 
aerial,  praised  and  honored  in  the  salons  of  the  Restora- 
tion." 20 

Balzac  had  a  brief,  yet  ardent  friendship  with  the 
Duchesse  de  Castries  which  ended  so  unhappily  for  him 
that  one  might  say :  "  Heaven  has  no  rage  like  love  to 
hatred  turned."  21  Madame  de  Castries  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Duchesse  (nee  Fitz-James)  and  the  Due  de 
Maille.  She  did  not  become  a  duchess  until  in  1842,  and 
bore  the  title  of  marquise  previous  to  that  time.  Sepa- 
rated from  her  husband  as  the  result  of  a  famous  love  af- 
fair, the  Marquise  gathered  round  her  a  group  of  intellec- 
tual people,  among  whom  were  the  writers  Balzac,  Mus- 
set,  Sainte-Beuve,  etc.,  and  continued  active  in  literary  and 
artistic  circles  until  her  death  ( 1861). 

zoDocteur  Veron,  Memoires  d'un  Bourgeois  a  Paris,  v.  6,  p.  ?\\ 
21  Congreve,  The  Mourning  Bride,  Act  III,  Scene  2. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        183 

On  Balzac's  return  to  Paris  after  a  prolonged  visit  with 
his  friends  at  Sache  during  the  month  of  September,  1831, 
he  received  an  anonymous  letter,  dated  at  Paris,  a  circum- 
stance which  was  with  him  of  rather  frequent  occurrence, 
as  with  many  men  of  letters. 

This  lady  criticized  the  Physiologic  du  Manage,  to 
which  Balzac  replies,  defending  his  position: 

"  The  Physiologic  du  Manage,  madame,  was  a  work  un- 
dertaken for  the  purpose  of  defending  the  cause  of 
women.  I  knew  that  if,  with  the  view  of  inculcating 
ideas  favorable  to  their  emancipation  and  to  a  broad  and 
thorough  system  of  education  for  them,  I  had  gone  to 
work  in  a  blundering  way,  I  should  at  best,  have  been 
regarded  as  nothing  more  than  an  author  of  a  theory 
more  or  less  plausible.  I  was  therefore,  obliged  to  clothe 
my  ideas,  to  disguise  them  under  a  new  shape,  in  biting, 
incisive  words  that  should  lay  hold  on  the  mind  of  my 
readers,  awaken  their  attention  and  leave  behind,  reflec- 
tions upon  which  they  might  meditate.  Thus  then  any 
woman  who  has  passed  through  the  *  storms  of  life ' 
would  see  that  I  attribute  the  blame  of  all  faults  com- 
mitted by  the  wives,  entirely  to  their  husbands.  It  is,  in 
fact,  a  plenary  absolution.  Besides  this,  I  plead  for  the 
natural  and  inalienable  rights  of  woman.  A  happy  mar- 
riage is  impossible  unless  there  be  a  perfect  acquaintance 
between  the  two  before  marriage  —  a  knowledge  of  each 
other's  ways,  habits  and  character.  And  I  have  not 
flinched  from  any  of  the  consequences  involved  in  this 
principle.  Those  who  know  me  are  aware  that  I  have 
been  faithful  to  this  opinion  ever  since  I  reached  the  age 
of  reason ;  and  in  my  eyes  a  young  girl  who  has  commit- 
ted a  fault  deserves  more  interest  than  she  who,  remain- 


1 84     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

ing  ignorant,  lies  open  to  the  misfortunes  of  the  future. 
I  am  at  this  present  time  a  bachelor,  and  if  I  should  marry 
later  in  life,  it  will  only  be  to  a  widow."  22 

Thus  was  begun  the  correspondence,  and  the  Duchess 
ended  by  lifting  her  mask  and  inviting  the  writer  to  visit 
her ;  he  gladly  accepted  her  gracious  offer  to  come,  not  as 
a  literary  man  nor  as  an  artist,  but  as  himself.  It  is  a 
striking  coincidence  that  Balzac  accepted  this  invitation 
the  very  day,  February  28,  1832,  that  he  received  the  first 
letter  from  l'£trangere. 

What  must  have  been  Balzac's  surprise,  and  how  flat- 
tered he  must  have  felt,  on  learning  that  his  unknown  cor- 
respondent belonged  to  the  highest  aristocracy  of  the  Fau- 
bourg Saint-Germain,  and  that  her  husband  was  a  peer  of 
France  under  Charles  X ! 

"  Madame  de  Castries  was  a  coquettish,  vain,  delicate, 
clever  woman,  with  a  touch  of  sensibility,  piety  and 
chaleur  de  salon;  a  true  Parisian  with  all  her  brilliant 
exterior  accomplishments,  qualities  refined  by  education, 
luxury  and  aristocratic  surroundings,  but  also  with  all 
her  coldness  and  faults;  in  a  word,  one  of  those  women 
of  whom  one  must  never  ask  friendship,  love  or  devotion 
beyond  a  light  veneer,  because  nature  has  created  some 
women  morally  poor."  23 

At  first,  Balzac  was  too  enraptured  to  judge  her  ac- 
curately, but  after  frequenting  her  salon  for  several 
months,  he  says  of  her: 

"  It  is  necessary  that  I  go  and  climb  about  at  Aix,  in 

22  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  p.  237,  October  5,  1831. 
28  Gabriel  Ferry,  Balzac  et  ses  Amies,  p.  81,  82. 


i85 

Savoy,  to  run  after  some  one  who,  perhaps,  will  laugh  at 
me  —  one  of  those  aristocratic  women  of  whom  you  no 
doubt  have  a  horror ;  one  of  those  angelic  beauties  to  whom 
one  ascribes  a  soul;  a  true  duchess,  very  disdainful,  very 
loving,  subtle,  witty,  a  coquette,  like  nothing  I  have  ever 
yet  seen,  and  who  says  she  loves  me,  who  wants  to  keep 
me  in  a  palace  at  Venice  (for  I  tell  you  everything),  and 
who  desires  I  should  write  nothing,  except  for  her;  one 
of  those  women  who  must  be  worshiped  on  one's  knees 
when  they  wish  it,  and  whom  one  has  such  pleasure  in 
conquering;  a  woman  to  be  dreamt  of,  jealous  of  every- 
thing." 

A  few  weeks  later  he  writes  from  Aix: 

"  I  have  come  here  to  seek  at  once  both  much  and  little. 
Much,  because  I  see  daily  a  person  full  of  grace  and 
amiability,  little,  because  she  is  never  likely  to  love  me." 2* 

Under  the  influence  of  the  Duchesse  de  Castries  and  the 
Due  de  Fitz-James,  Balzac  gave  more  and  more  promi- 
nence to  Catholic  and  Legitimist  sentiments;  and  it  was 
perhaps  for  her  sake  that  the  novelist  offered  himself  as  a 
candidate  for  deputy  in  several  districts,  but  was  defeated 
in  all  of  them.  He  thought  it  quite  probable  that  the  Due 
de  Fitz-James  would  be  elected  in  at  least  two  districts, 
so  if  he  were  not  elected  at  Angouleme,  the  Duke  might 
use  his  interest  to  get  him  elected  for  the  place  he  de- 
clined. 

It  is  after  Balzac  met  Madame  de  Castries  that  one 
notes  his  extravagant  tastes  and  love  of  display  as  shown 

2*  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  pp.  265,  306,  July  2,  1832, 
September,  1832.  Letters  to  Madame  Carraud. 


1 86     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

in  his  horses  and  carriage,  his  extra  servant,  his  numerous 
waistcoats,  his  gold  buttons,  his  appearance  at  the  opera 
with  his  wonderful  cane,  and  his  indulgence  in  rare  pic- 
tures, old  furniture,  and  bric-a-brac  in  general. 

Induced  to  follow  her  to  Aix,  he  continued  his  work, 
rising  at  five  in  the  morning  and  working  until  half  past 
five  in  the  afternoon.  His  lunch  came  from  the  circle, 
and  at  six  o'clock,  he  dined  with  Madame  de  Castries,  and 
spent  the  evening  with  her.  His  intimacy  with  this  illus- 
trious family  increased,  and  he  accepted  an  invitation  to 
accompany  them  to  Italy,  giving  several  reasons  for  this 
journey: 


"  I  am  at  the  gates  of  Italy,  and  I  fear  to  give  way 
to  the  temptation  of  passing  through  them.  The  journey 
would  not  be  costly ;  I  could  make  it  with  the  Fitz-James 
family,  who  would  be  exceedingly  agreeable ;  they  are  all 
perfect  to  me.  ...  I  travel  as  fourth  passenger  in  Mme. 
de  Castries'  vetturino  and  the  bargain  —  which  includes 
everything,  food,  carriages,  hotels  —  is  a  thousand  francs 
for  all  of  us  to  go  from  Geneva  to  Rome;  making  my 
share  two  hundred  and  fifty  francs.  ...  I  shall  make 
this  splendid  journey  with  the  Duke,  who  will  treat  me 
as  if  I  were  his  son.  I  also  shall  be  in  relation  with  the 
best  society ;  I  am  not  likely  to  meet  with  such  an  oppor- 
tunity again.  M.  de  Fitz- James  has  been  in  Italy  before, 
he  knows  the  country,  and  will  spare  me  all  loss  of  time. 
Besides  this,  his  name  will  throw  open  many  doors  to  me. 
The  Duchesse  and  he  are  both  more  than  kind  to  me,  in 
every  way,  and  the  advantages  of  their  society  are 
great." 25 

25  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  i,  pp.  309,  315,  316,  September 
15,  23,  1832.    Letters  to  Madame  Surville  and  Madame  de  Balzac. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        187 

From  Aix  they  went  to  Geneva.  Just  what  happened 
here,  we  shall  probably  never  know.  Suddenly  abandon- 
ing the  proposed  trip,  Balzac  writes  his  mother: 

"  It  is  advisable  I  should  return  to  France  for  three 
months.  .  .  .  Besides,  my  traveling  companions  will  not 
be  at  Naples  till  February.  I  shall,  therefore,  come  back, 
but  not  to  Paris;  my  return  will  not  be  known  to  any 
one;  and  I  shall  start  again  for  Naples  in  February,  via 
Marseilles  and  the  steamer.  I  shall  be  more  at  rest  on 
the  subjects  of  money  and  literary  obligations."  26 

Later  he  alludes  thus  to  his  sudden  departure  from 
Geneva : 

"  Mon  Dieu,  Mon  Dieu  !  God,  in  whom  I  believe,  owed 
me  some  sweet  emotions  at  the  sight  of  Geneva,  for  I  left 
it  disconsolate,  cursing  everything,  abhorring  woman- 
kind! With  what  joy  shall  I  return  to  it,  my  celestial 
love,  my  Eva !  "  2T 

Thus  was  ended  an  ardent  friendship  of  about  eight 
months'  duration,  for  instead  of  rejoining  the  Duchesse 
de  Castries  in  Italy  Balzac's  first  visit  to  that  country  was 
made  many  years  later,  and  then  in  the  delightful  com- 
pany of  his  "  Polar  Star." 

In  speaking  of  this  sudden  breach,  Miss  M.  F.  Sandars 
says: 

"  We  can  only  conjecture  the  cause  of  the  final  rup- 
ture, as  no  satisfactory  explanation  is  forthcoming.  The 
original  '  Confession  '  in  the  Medecin  de  Campagne,  which 
is  the  history  of  Balzac's  relations  and  parting  with  Ma- 

20  Op.  cit.,  v.  i,  p.  341,  October,  1832. 

27  Lettres  a  I'fLtrangere,  v.  I,  p.  93,  November  23,  1833. 


1 88     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

dame  de  Castries,  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Vicomte  de 
Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul.  The  present  '  Confession  '  was 
substituted  for  it,  because  the  first  revealed  too  much  of 
Balzac's  private  life.  However,  even  in  the  original 
4  Confession/  we  learn  no  reason  for  Madame  de  Cas- 
tries' sudden  resolve  to  dismiss  her  adorer,  as  Balzac  de- 
clares with  indignant  despair  that  he  can  give  no  ex- 
planation of  it.  Apparently  she  parted  from  him  one 
evening  with  her  usual  warmth  of  affection,  and  next 
morning  everything  was  changed,  and  she  treated  him 
with  the  utmost  coldness."  28 

Fully  to  appreciate  what  this  friendship  meant  to  both, 
one  must  consider  the  private  life  of  each.  As  has  been 
seen,  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1832  that  Balzac  and  his 
Dilecta  decided  to  sever  their  intimate  connection,  and 
since  his  Chatelaine  of  Wierzchownia  had  not  yet  become 
the  dominating  force  .in  his  life,  his  heart  was  doubtless 
yearning  for  some  one  to  adore. 

There  was  also  an  aching  void  in  the  heart  of  Madame 
de  Castries.  She,  too,  was  recovering  from  an  amorous 
attachment,  more  serious  than  was  his,  for  death  had  re- 
cently claimed  the  young  Count  Metternich.  Perhaps, 
then,  each  was  seeking  consolation  in  the  other's  society. 

There  was  nothing  more  astonishing  or  charming  than 
to  see  in  the  evening,  in  one  of  the  most  simple  little  draw- 
ing-rooms, antiquely  furnished  with  tables,  cushions  of 
old  velvet  and  screens  of  the  eighteenth  century,  this 
woman,  her  spine  injured,  reclining  in  her  invalid's  chair, 
languid,  but  without  affectation.  This  woman  —  with 
her  profile  more  Roman  than  Greek,  her  hair  falling  over 
28  Honore  de  Balzac,  p.  122. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        189 

her  high,  white  brow  —  was  the  Duchesse  de  Castries,  nee 
de  Maille,  related  to  the  best  families  of  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Germain.  Accompanying  the  young  Comte  de 
Metternich  on  the  hunt,  she  was  caught  in  the  branch  of  a 
tree,  and  fell,  injuring  her  spine.  But  a  shadow  of  her 
former  brilliant  self  —  such  had  become  this  beauty,  once 
so  dazzling  that  the  moment  she  entered  the  drawing- 
room,  her  gorgeous  robe  falling  over  shoulders  worthy  of 
a  Titian,  the  brilliancy  of  the  candles  was  literally  ef- 
faced.29 

Balzac  refers  frequently  to  Count  Metternich  in  writing 
to  Madame  Hanska  of  his  association  with  Madame  de 
Castries : 

"  There  is  still  a  Metternich  in  this  adventure ;  but  this 
time  it  is  the  son,  who  died  in  Florence.  I  have  already 
told  you  of  this  cruel  affair,  and  I  had  no  right  to  tell 
you.  Though  separated  from  that  person  out  of  deli- 
cacy, all  is  not  over  yet.  I  suffer  through  her;  but  I  do 

not  judge  her.  .  .  .  Madame  de  C insists  that  she 

has  never  loved  any  one  except  M.  de  M and  that  she 

loves  him  still,  that  Artemisia  of  Ephesus.  .  .  .  You  asked 

me,  I  believe,  about  Madame  de  C She  has  taken 

the  thing,  as  I  told  you,  tragically,  and  now  distrusts  the 

M family.     Beneath  all  this,  on  both  sides  there  is 

something  inexplicable,  and  I  have  no  desire  to  look  for 

29  Philarete  Chasles  was  a  frequent  visitor  of  her  salon.  See  his 
Memoir es,  v.  I.  For  details  of  her  liaison  with  the  Comte  de  Met- 
ternich, see  S.  de  Lovenjoul,  Histoire  des  (Euvres  de  Balzac,  pp.  431, 
432.  When  Balzac  visited  Madame  H'anska  at  Vienna  in  the  summer 
of  1835,  he  did  a  favor  for  the  Duchesse  de  Castries  while  there. 
He  wrote  La  Filandiere,  1835,  one  of  his  Conies  drolatiques,  for 
Madame  de  Castries'  son,  M.  le  baron  d'Aldenburg. 


1 90    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

the  key  of  mysteries  which  do  not  concern  me.     I  am 

with  Madame  de  C on  the  proper  terms  of  politeness, 

and  as  you  yourself  would  wish  me  to  be." 

After  their  abrupt  separation  at  Geneva,  their  relations 
continued  to  be  estranged : 

*'  For  the  moment  I  will  tell  you  that  Madame  de  C 

has  written  me  that  we  are  not  to  see  each  other  again; 
she  has  taken  offense  at  a  letter,  and  I  at  many  other 
things.  Be  assured  that  there  is  no  love  in  all  this!  .  .  . 

I  meant  to  speak  to  you  of  Madame  de  C ,  but  I  have 

not  the  time.  Twenty-five  days  hence  I  will  tell  you  by 
word  of  mouth.  In  two  words,  your  Honore,  my  £va, 
grew  angry  at  the  coldness  which  simulated  friendship. 
I  said  what  I  thought;  the  reply  was  that  I  ought  not  to 
see  again  a  woman  to  whom  I  could  say  such  cruel  things. 
I  asked  a  thousand  pardons  for  the  '  great  liberty,'  and 
we  continue  on  a  very  cold  footing."  30 

Balzac  was  deeply  wounded  through  his  passionate  love 
for  Madame  de  Castries,  and  resented  her  leaving  him  in 
the  depths  of  an  abyss  of  coldness  after  having  inflamed 
him  with  the  fire  of  her  soul;  he  began  to  think  of  re- 
venge : 

"  I  abhor  Madame  de  C ,  for  she  blighted  my  life 

without  giving  me  another, —  I  do  not  say  a  comparable 
one,  but  without  giving  me  what  she  promised.  There 
is  not  the  shadow  of  wounded  vanity,  oh !  but  disgust 
and  contempt  ...  If  Madame  de  C 's  letter  dis- 
pleases you,  say  so  frankly,  my  love.  I  will  write  to  her 

30  Lettres  d  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  63,  October  24,  1833 ;  p.  72,  Novem- 
ber 2,  1833. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       191 

that  my  affections  are  placed  in  a  heart  too  jealous  for 
me  to  be  permitted  to  correspond  with  a  woman  who  has 
her  reputation  for  beauty,  for  charm,  and  that  I  act 
frankly  in  telling  her  so.  .  .  ."  31 

Indeed,  his  experience  with  Madame  de  Castries  at 
Geneva  had  made  him  so  unhappy  that  on  his  return  to 
that  city  to  visit  his  Predilecta,  he  had  moments  of  joy 
mingled  with  sorrow,  as  the  scenery  recalled  how,  on  his 
previous  visit,  he  had  wept  over  his  illusions  perdues. 
While  other  writers  suggest  different  causes,  one  might 
surmise  that  this  serious  disappointment  was  the  begin- 
ning of  Balzac's  heart  trouble,  for  in  speaking  of  it,  he 
says :  "  It  is  necessary  for  my  life  to  be  bright  and  pleas- 
ant. The  cruelties  of  the  woman  whom  you  know  have 
been  the  cause  of  the  trouble;  then  the  disasters  of 
1848.  .  .  ."32 

He  tried  to  overcome  his  dejection  by  intense  work,  but 
he  could  not  forget  the  tragic  suffering  he  had  undergone. 
The  experience  he  had  recently  passed  through  he  dis- 
closed in  one  of  his  most  noted  stories,  La  Duchesse  de 
Langeais,  which  he  wrote  largely  in  1 834  at  the  same  fatal 
city  of  Geneva,  but  this  time,  while  enjoying  the  society  of 
the  beautiful  Madame  Hanska.  In  this  story,  under  the 
name  of  the  heroine,  the  Duchesse  de  Langeais,  he  de- 
scribes the  Duchesse  de  Castries : 

"  This  was  a  woman  artificially  educated,  but  in  re- 
ality ignorant ;  a  woman  whose  instincts  and  feelings  were 

SiLettres  a  i'Etrangere,  v.  I,  pp.  107,  108,  114,  January,  1834. 
32  Correspondance,  1819-1850,  v.  2,  p.  400,  April  30,  1849.    Letter  to 
Madame  Surville. 


192 

lofty,  while  the  thought  which  should  have  controlled 
them  was  wanting.  She  squandered  the  wealth  of  her 
nature  in  obedience  to  social  conventions;  she  was  ready 
to  brave  society,  yet  she  hesitated  till  her  scruples  de- 
generated into  artifice.  With  more  wilfulness  than  force 
of  character,  impressionable  rather  than  enthusiastic, 
gifted  with  more  brain  than  heart;  she  was  supremely  a 
woman,  supremely  a  coquette,  and  above  all  things  a 
Parisienne,  loving  a  brilliant  life  and  gaiety,  reflecting 
never,  or  too  late;  imprudent  to  the  verge  of  poetry,  and 
humble  in  the  depths  of  her  heart,  in  spite  of  her  charming 
insolence.  Like  some  straight-growing  reed,  she  made  a 
show  of  independence;  yet,  like  the  reed,  she  was  ready  to 
bend  to  a  strong  hand.  She  talked  much  of  religion,  and 
had  it  not  at  heart,  though  she  was  prepared  to  find  in  it  a 
solution  of  her  life." 

In  the  same  story  under  the  name  of  the  Marquis  de 
Montriveau,  Balzac  is  doubtless  portraying  himself.  It 
was  probably  in  the  home  of  the  Duchesse  de  Castries  that 
Balzac  conceived  some  of  his  ideas  of  the  aristocracy  of 
the  exclusive  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  a  picture  of  which 
he  has  drawn  in  this  story  of  which  she  is  the  heroine. 
Her  influence  is  seen  also  in  the  characters  so  minutely 
drawn  of  the  heartless  Parisienne,  no  longer  young,  but 
seductive,  refined  and  aristocratic,  though  deceptive  and 
perfidious. 

Before  publishing  La  Duchesse  de  Langeais,  the  novel- 
ist was  either  tactful  or  vindictive  enough  to  call  on 
Madame  de  Castries  and  read  to  her  his  new  book.  He 
says  of  this  visit:  "  I  have  just  returned  from  Madame 
de  C ,  whom  I  do  not  want  for  an  enemy  when  my 


La  Princesse  Belgiojoso 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        193 

book  comes  out,  and  the  best  means  of  obtaining  a  de- 
fender against  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  is  to  make 
her  approve  of  the  work  in  advance ;  and  she  greatly  ap- 
proved of  it."  33  But  a  few  weeks  later,  he  writes : 

"  Here  I  am,  on  bad  terms  with  Madame  de  C on 

account  of  the  Duchesse  de  Langeais  —  so  much  the  bet- 
ter." 33  If  Balzac  refers  to  Madame  de  Castries  in  the 
following  excerpt,  one  may  even  say  that  he  had  her  cor- 
rect this  work. 

"  Say  whatever  you  like  about  La  Duchesse  de  Langeais, 
your  remarks  do  not  affect  me ;  but  a  lady  whom  you  may 
perhaps  know,  illustrious  and  elegant,  has  approved  every- 
thing, corrected  everything  like  a  royal  censor,  and  her 
authority  on  ducal  matters  is  incontestable;  I  am  safe 
under  the  shadow  of  her  shawl."  34 

Balzac  continued  to  call  on  her  and  to  write  to  her  occa- 
sionally, and  was  very  sympathetic  in  her  illness,  es- 
pecially since  her  Parisian  friends  seemed  to  have  aban- 
doned her.  Though  death  did  not  come  to  her  until  more 
than  twenty-five  years  later,  he  writes  at  this  time : 

"  Madame  de  Castries  is  dying ;  the  paralysis  is  attack- 
ing the  other  limb.  Her  beauty  is  no  more ;  she  is  blighted. 
Oh !  I  pity  her.  She  suffers  horribly  and  inspires  pity 
only.  She  is  the  only  person  I  visit,  and  then,  for  one 
hour  every  week.  It  is  more  than  I  really  can  do,  but 
that  hour  is  compelled  by  the  sight  of  that  slow  death."  35 

In  her  despondency  he  tries  to  cheer  her : 

33  Lettres  a  I'fctrangere,  v.   I,  p.   131,   February  18,   1834,  p.   138, 
March  g,  1834. 

34  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  52.    Letter  to  Louise. 

35  Lettres  a  l'£,trangere,  p.  180,  August  u,  1834. 


i94    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

"  I  do  not  like  your  melancholy ;  I  should  scold  you 
well  if  you  were  here.  I  would  put  you  on  a  large  divan, 
where  you  would  be  like  a  fairy  in  the  midst  of  her  palace, 
and  I  would  tell  you  that  in  this  life  you  must  love  in 
order  to  live.  Now,  you  do  not  love.  A  lively  affection 
is  the  bread  of  the  soul,  and  when  the  soul  is  not  fed  it 
grows  starved,  like  the  body.  The  bonds  of  the  soul  and 
body  are  such  that  each  suffers  with  the  other.  ...  A 
thousand  kindly  things  in  return  for  your  flowers,  which 
bring  me  much  happiness,  but  I  wish  for  something  more. 
.  .  .  You  have  mingled  bitterness  with  the  flatteries  you 
have  the  goodness  to  bestow  on  my  book,  as  if  you  knew 
all  the  weight  of  your  words  and  how  far  they  would 
reach.  I  would  a  thousand  times  rather  you  would  con- 
sider the  book  and  the  pen  as  things  of  your  own,  than 
receive  these  praises."  36 

Though  his  visits  continued,  their  friendship  gradually 
grew  colder,  and  in  1836  he  writes :  "  I  have  broken  the 

last  frail  relations  of  politeness  with  Madame  de  C . 

She  enjoys  the  society  of  MM.  Janni  and  Sainte-Beuve, 
who  have  so  outrageously  wounded  me.  It  seemed  to  me 
bad  taste,  and  now  I  am  happily  out  of  it."  37 

La  Duchesse  de  Langeais  appeared  in  1834,  but  Ma- 
dame de  Castries  had  not  fully  wreaked  her  revenge  on 
Balzac.  For  some  time  an  Irish  woman,  a  Miss  Patrick- 
son,  had  insisted  on  translating  Balzac's  works.  Madame 
de  Castries  engaged  her  as  teacher  of  English,  and  used 

86  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Bolzac,  v.  2,  pp.  2,  3,  March,  1835,  p.  23, 
October  18,  1835.  It  is  interesting  to  note  Balzac's  fondness  for 
flowers,  as  is  seen  in  his  association  of  them  with  various  women, 
and  the  prominent  place  he  has  given  them  in  some  of  his  works, 
par  ex.,  Le  Cure  de  Village. 

37  Lettres  a  l'£.trangere,  v.  I,  p.  300,  January  30,  1836. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        195 

her  as  a  means  of  ensnaring  Balzac  by  having  her  write 
him  a  love  letter  and  sign  it  "  Lady  Nevil."  Though  sus- 
picious about  this  letter,  he  answered  it,  and  a  rendezvous 
was  arranged  at  the  opera.  That  day  he  called  on 
Madame  de  Castries,  and  she  had  him  remain  for  dinner. 
When  he  excused  himself  to  go  to  the  opera,  she  insisted 
on  accompanying  him ;  he  then  realized  that  he  was  a  vic- 
tim of  her  strategy,  which  he  thus  describes : 

"  I  go  to  the  opera.  No  one  there.  Then  I  write  a 
letter,  which  brings  the  miss,  old,  horrible,  with  hideous 
teeth,  but  full  of  remorse  for  the  part  she  had  played, 
full  of  affection  for  me  and  contempt  and  horror  for  the 
Marquise.  Though  my  letters  were  extremely  ironical 
and  written  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  woman  mas- 
querading as  a  false  lady  blush,  she  (Miss  Patrickson) 
had  recovered  them.  I  had  the  upper  hand  of  Madame 

de  C She  ended  by  divining  that  in  this  intrigue  she 

was  on  the  down  side.  From  that  time  forth  she  vowed 
me  a  hatred  which  will  end  only  with  life.  In  fact,  she 
may  rise  out  of  her  grave  to  calumniate  me.  She  never 
opened  Seraphita  on  account  of  its  dedication,  and  her 
jealousy  is  such  that  if  she  could  completely  destroy  the 
book  she  would  weep  for  joy."  38 

Notwithstanding  their  enmity,  Balzac  visited  her  occa- 
sionally. She  had  become  so  uncomely  that  he  could  not 
understand  his  infatuation  at  Aix,  ten  years  before.  He 
disliked  her  especially  because  she  had  for  the  moment,  in 

38  Lettres  a  l'£trangcre,  v.  i,  p.  445,  November  7,  1837.  Seized 
with  pity  for  this  poor  Irish  woman,  Balzac  called  later  to  see  about 
some  translations  and  found  her  overcome  by  drink  in  the  midst  of 
poverty  and  dirt.  He  learned  afterwards  that  she  was  addicted  to 
the  habit  of  drinking  gin. 


196     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

posing  as  Madame  de  Balzac,  made  Madame  Hanska  be- 
lieve he  was  married.  He  enjoyed  telling  her  of  Madame 
Hanska's  admiration  for  and  devotion  to  him,  and  sarcas- 
tically remarked  to  her  that  she  was  such  a  "  true  friend  " 
she  would  be  happy  to  learn  of  his  financial  success. 
Thus,  during  a  period  of  several  years,  while  speaking  of 
her  as  his  enemy,  the  novelist  continued  to  dine  with  her, 
but  was  ever  ready  to  overwhelm  her  with  sarcasm,  even 
while  her  guest.  Yet,  in  1843,  he  dedicated  to  her  L'll- 
lustre  Gandissart,  a  work  written  ten  years  before. 

Though  he  fully  recovered  with  time,  this  drama, 
played  by  a  coquette,  was  almost  tragic  for  the  author  of 
the  Comedie  humaine.  No  other  woman  left  so  deep  a 
mark  of  passion  or  such  rankling  wounds  in  his  bleeding 
heart,  as  did  she  of  whom  he  says : 

"  It  has  required  five  years  of  wounds  for  my  tender 
nature  to  detach  itself  from  one  of  iron.  A  gracious 
woman,  this  Duchess  of  whom  I  spoke  to  you,  and  one 
who  had  come  to  me  under  an  incognito,  which,  I  render 
her  this  justice,  she  laid  aside  the  day  I  asked  her  to,  ... 
This  liaison  which,  whatever  may  be  said,  be  assured  has 
remained  by  the  will  of  this  woman  in  the  most  irre- 
proachable conditions,  has  been  one  of  the  great  sorrows 
of  my  life.  The  secret  misfortunes  of  my-  situation  ac- 
tually come  from  the  fact  that  I  sacrificed  everything  to 
her,  for  a  single  one  of  her  desires;  she  never  divined 
anything.  A  wounded  man  must  be  pardoned  for  fearing 
injuries.  ...  I  alone  know  what  there  is  of  horror  in 
the  Duchesse  de  Langeais."  39 

In  1831  Balzac  asked  for  the  hand  of  a  young  lady  of 
39  Correspondance,  1819-1850,  v.  i,  pp.  358,  359.    Letter  to  Louise. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        197 

the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  Mademoiselle  Eleonore  de 
Trumilly,  second  daughter  of  his  friend  the  Baron  de 
Trumilly,  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Artillery  of  the 
Royal  guard  under  the  Restoration,  a  former  emigre,  and 
of  Madame  Alexandra-Anna  de  Montiers.  This  request 
was  received  by  her  father,  who  transmitted  it  to  her,  but 
she  rejected  the  suitor  and  married  June  18,  1833,  Fran- 
gois-Felix-Claude-Marie-Marguerite  Labroue,  Baron  de 
Vareilles-Sommieres,  of  the  diocese  of  Poitiers. 

The  Baron  de  Trumilly  (died  April  7,  1832)  held 
high  rank  among  the  officers  of  the  artillery,  and  his  cul- 
tured mind  rendered  him  one  of  the  ornaments  of  society,  i 
He  lived  in  friendly  and  intellectual  relations  with  Balzac 
while  the  future  novelist  was  working  on  the  Chouans  and 
the  Physiologic  du  Manage,  and  at  the  time  Balzac  was 
revising  the  latter  for  publication,  he  went  to  dine  fre- 
quently at  the  home  of  the  Baron,  who  used  to  work  with 
him  until  late  in  the  evening.  In  this  work  he  introduces 

an  old  emigre  under  the  initials  of  Marquis  de  T 

which  are  quite  similar  to  those  of  the  Baron  de  Trumilly. 

This  Marquis  de  T went  to  Germany  about  1791, 

which  corresponds  to  the  life  of  the  Baron. 

Baron  de  Trumilly  welcomed  Balzac  into  his  home, 
took  a  great  interest  in  his  work,  and  seemed  willing  to 
give  him  one  of  his  three  daughters;  but  one  can  under- 
stand how  the  young  novelist,  who  had  not  yet  attained 
great  fame,  might  not  favorably  impress  a  young  lady  of 
the  social  standing  of  Mademoiselle  de  Trumilly,  and  her 
father  did  not  urge  her  to  accept  him. 

Although  Balzac  wrote  Madame  Hanska  that  when  he 
called  the  girl  loved  by  Dr.  Benassis  in  his  "  Confession  " 


198 

(Le  Medecin  de  Campagne}  "  Evelina,"  he  said  to  him- 
self, "  She  will  quiver  with  joy  in  seeing  that  her  name 
has  occupied  me,  that  she  was  present  to  my  memory,  and 
that  what  I  deemed  loveliest  and  noblest  in  the  young  girl, 
I  have  named  for  her,"  40  some  think  that  the  lady  he  had 
in  mind  was  not  Mme.  Hanska,  but  Elenore  de  Trumilly, 
who  really  was  a  young  unmarried  girl,  while  Madame 
Hanska  was  not  only  married,  but  the  mother  of  several 
children.  Again,  letters  written  by  the  author  to  his  fam- 
ily show  his  condition  to  have  been  desperate  at  that  time. 
Balzac  asserts  that  the  story  of  Louis  Lambert  is  true  to 
life;  hence,  despondent  over  his  own  situation,  he  makes 
Louis  Lambert  become  insane,  and  causes  Dr.  Benassis  to 
think  of  suicide  when  disappointed  in  love.41 

Thus  was  the  novelist  doomed,  early  in  his  literary  ca- 
reer, to  meet  with  a  disappointment  which,  as  has  been 
seen,  was  to  be  repeated  some  months  later  with  more  seri- 
ous results,  when  his  adoration  for  the  Duchesse  de  Cas- 
tries was  suddenly  turned  into  bitterness. 

MADAME    HANSKA. LA    COMTESSE    MNISZECH. MADE- 
MOISELLE   BOREL. MESDEMOISELLES    WYLEZYNSKA. 

LA     COMTESSE     ROSALIE     RZEWUSKA. MADEMOI- 
SELLE     CALISTE      RZEWUSKA. MADAME      CHERKO- 

WITSCH. MADAME  RIZNITSCH. LA   COMTESSE  MA- 
RIE POTOgKA. 

"  And  they  talk  of  the  first  love !     I  know  nothing  so 
terrible  as  the  last,  it  is  strangling."  42 

40  Lettres  a  l'£trangcre,  v.  I,  p.  28,  July  19,  1833. 

41  As  to  the  authority  and  details  of  Balzac's  love  for  Mademoiselle 
de  Trumilly,  see  Jacques  de  Biez,  Le  Figaro  Supplements  of  April  6 
and  December  14,  1912. 

42  Balzac,  Les  Ressources  de  Quinola,  p.  141. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        199 

The  longest  and  by  far  the  most  important  of  Balzac's 
friendships  begun  by  correspondence  was  the  one  with 
Madame  Eveline  Hanska,  whose  first  letter  arrived  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1832.  The  friendship  soon  developed  into  a 
more  sentimental  relationship  culminating  March  14, 
1850,  when  Madame  Hanska  became  Madame  Honore  de 
Balzac.  This  "  grand  and  beautiful  soul-drama  "  is  one 
of  the  noblest  in  the  world,  and  in  the  history  of  literature 
the  longest. 

So  long  was  Balzac  in  pursuit  of  this  apparent  chimera, 
and  so  ardent  was  his  passion  for  his  "  polar  star  "  that 
the  above  words  of  Quinola  may  well  be  applied  to  his  ex- 
perience. So  fervent  was  his  adoration,  so  pathetic  his 
sufferings  and  so  persistent  his  pursuit  during  the  seven- 
teen long  years  of  waiting  that  Miss  Betham-Edwards 
has  appropriately  said  of  his  letters  to  Madame  Hanska: 

"  Opening  with  a  pianissimo,  we  soon  reach  a  con  molto 
expressione,  a  crescendo,  a  molto  -furore  quickly  follow- 
ing. Every  musical  term,  adjectival,  substantival,  occurs 
to  us  as  we  read  the  thousand  and  odd  pages  of  the  two 
volumes.  .  .  .  Nothing  in  his  fiction  or  any  other,  records 
a  love  greatening  as  the  tedious  years  wore  on,  a  love 
sovereignly  overcoming  doubt,  despair  and  disillusion, 
such  a  love  as  the  great  Balzac's  for  I'fLtrangere,"  43 

Their  relationship  from  the  beginning  of  their  corre- 
spondence to  the  tragic  end  which  came  so  soon  after  Bal- 
zac had  arrived  "  at  the  summit  of  happiness,"  has  been 
shrouded  in  mystery.  This  mystery  has  been  heightened 

43  A  Great  Love  Story,  pp.  45,  91.  It  is  doubtless  a  typographical 
error,  ibid.,  p.  53,  where  one  reads  that  it  was  on  the  28th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1833,  that  Balzac  received  his  first  note  from  l'£trangere. 


200     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

by  the  vivid  imagination  of  some  of  Balzac's  biographers, 
where  fancy  replaces  facts. 

Miss  Katherine  P.  Wormeley  denies  the  authenticity  of 
some  of  the  letters  published  in  the  Lettres  a  l'£trang$re, 
saying : 

"  No  explanation  is  given  of  how  these  letters  were 
obtained,  and  no  proof  or  assurance  is  offered  of  their 
authenticity.  A  foot-note  appended  to  the  first  letter 
merely  states  as  follows :  '  M.  le  vicomte  de  Spoelberch 
de  Lovenjoul,  in  whose  hands  are  the  originals  of  these 
letters,  has  related  the  history  of  this  correspondence  in 
detail,  under  the  title  of  Un  Roman  d'Amvur  (Calmann 
Levy,  publisher).  Madame  Hanska,  born  Evelina  (Eve) 
Rzewuska,  who  was  then  twenty-six  or  twenty-eight  years 
old,  resided  at  the  chateau  of  Wierzchownia,  in  Volhynia. 
An  enthusiastic  reader  of  the  Scenes  de  la  Vie  pr'wee,  un- 
easy at  the  different  turns  which  the  mind  of  the  author 
was  taking  in  La  Peau  de  Chagrin,  she  addressed  to  Bal- 
zac—  then  thirty-three  years  old,  in  the  care  of  the  pub- 
lisher Gosselin,  a  letter  signed  l'£trangere,  which  was  de- 
livered to  him  February  28,  1832.  Other  letters  followed; 
that  of  November  7  ended  thus :  '  A  word  from  you  in  the 
Quotidienne  will  give  me  the  assurance  that  you  have 
received  my  letter,  and  that  I  can  write  to  you  without 
fear.  Sign  it;  to  I'E H.  de  B.'  This  acknowledg- 
ment of  reception  appeared  in  the  Quotidienne  of  Decem- 
ber 9.  Thus  was  inaugurated  the  system  of  petite  cor- 
respondence now  practised  in  divers  newspapers,  and  at 
the  same  time,  this  correspondence  with  her  who  was  sev- 
enteen years  later,  in  1850,  to  become  his  wife."  ** 

44  Translator's  Preface,  Letters  to  Madame  Hanska,  pp.  VII,  VIII. 
Miss  M.  F.  Sandars  states  that  a  copy  of  the  Qitotidienne  contain- 
ing this  acknowledgment  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Vicomte  de 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        201 

Regarding  the  two  letters  published  in  Un  Roman 
d' Amour,  pp.  33-49,  dated  November  7,  1832,  and  January 
8,  1833,  and  signed  I'Etrangere,  Miss  Wormeley  says  it  is 
not  necessary  to  notice  them,  since  the  author  himself 
states  that  they  are  not  in  Madame  Hanska's  handwriting. 

She  is  quite  correct  in  this,  for  Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul 
writes :  "  How  many  letters  did  Balzac  receive  thus  ? 
No  one  knows.  But  we  possess  two,  neither  of  which  is 
in  Madame  Hanska's  handwriting."  In  speaking  of  the 
first  letter  that  arrived,  he  says : 

"  This  first  record  of  interest  which  was  soon  to  change 
its  nature,  has  unfortunately  not  been  found  yet.  Per- 
haps this  page  perished  in  the  autodafe  which,  as  the 
result  of  a  dramatic  adventure,  Balzac  made  of  all  the 
letters  he  had  received  from  Madame  Hanska;  perhaps 
also,  by  dint  of  rereading  it,  he  had  worn  it  out  and  in- 
voluntarily destroyed  it  himself.  We  do  not  know.  In 
any  case,  we  have  not  found  it  in  the  part  of  his  papers 
which  have  fallen  into  our  hands.  We  regret  it  very 
much,  for  this  letter  must  be  remarkable  to  have  produced 

Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  and  that  she  saw  it.  At  the  time  of  writ- 
ing this  preface,  Miss  Wormeley  did  not  believe  the  correspondence 
began  until  February,  1833.  In  undertaking  to  prove  this,  she  cited 
a  letter  from  Balzac  written  to  Madame  Hanska,  dated  January  4, 
1846,  in  which  he  says  that  the  thirteen  years  will  soon  be  completed 
since  he  received  her  first  letter.  She  corrects  this  statement,  how- 
ever, in  writing  her  Memoir  of  Balzac  three  years  later.  The  mis- 
take in  this  letter  here  mentioned  is  only  an  example  of  the  inac- 
curacy of  Balzac,  found  not  only  in  his  letters,  but  throughout  the 
Comedie  humaine.  But  Miss  Wormeley's  argument  might  have  been 
refuted  by  quoting  another  letter  from  Balzac  to  Madame  Hanska 
dated  February,  1840 :  "  After  eight  years  you  do  not  know  me !  " 
Lettres  d  ffctrangere,  v.  i,  p.  527. 


202     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

so  great  an  impression  on  the  future  author  of  the  Comedie 
humaine."  45 

The  question  arises :  If  Balzac  burned  in  1847  "  all  the 
letters  he  had  received  from  Madame  Hanska,"  how  could 
de  Lovenjoul  publish  in  1896  two  letters  that  he  alleged 
to  be  from  her,  dated  in  1832  and  1833  ? 

The  Princess  Radziwill,  who  is  the  niece  of  Madame 
Honore  de  Balzac  and  was  reared  by  her  in  the  home  of 
Balzac  in  the  rue  Fortunee,  has  been  both  gracious  and 
generous  to  the  present  writer  in  giving  her  much  valuable 
information  that  could  not  have  been  obtained  elsewhere. 
In  answer  to  the  above  question,  she  states : 

"  Balzac  said  that  he  burnefl  my  aunt's  letters  in  order 
to  reassure  her  one  day  when  she  had  reasons  to  fear  they 
would  fall  into  other  hands  than  those  to  whom  they  be- 
longed. After  his  death,  my  aunt  found  them  all,  and  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that  it  was  she  who  burned  them,  and  that  I 
was  pre&nt  at  this  autodafe,  and  remember  to  this  day  my 
horror  and  indignation.  But  my  aunt  as  well  as  my 
father  had  a  horror  of  leaving  letters  after  them,  and 
strange  to  say,  they  were  right  in  fearing  to  leave  them, 
because  in  both  cases,  papers  had  a  fate  they  would  not 
have  liked  them  to  have."  46 

The  sketch  of  the  family  of  Madame  Honore  de  Balzac 
as  given  in  Un  Roman  d' Amour  (pp.  13-18),  is  so  inac- 
curate that  the  Princess  Radziwill  has  very  kindly  made 
the  following  corrections  of  it  for  the  present  writer : 

45  Un  Roman  d' Amour,  pp.  28,  31.     For  details  of  the  controversy 
between  Miss  Wormeley  and  S.  de  Lovenjoul  over  Balzac's  letters, 
see  the  Academy,  1900,  May,  June. 

46  Private  papers  belonging  to  the  present  writer. 


203 

"(i)  Madame  Hanska  was  really  born  on  December 
,  not  25th,  1801.  You  will  find  the  date  on  her  grave 
which  is  under  the  same  monument  as  that  of  Balzac,  in 
Pere  Lachaise  in  Paris.  I  am  absolutely  sure  of  the  day, 
because  my  father  was  also  born  on  Christmas  Eve,  and 
there  were  always  great  family  rejoicings  on  that  occa- 
sion. You  know  that  the  Roman  Catholic  church  cele- 
brates on  the  24th  of  December  the  fete  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
and  it  is  because  they  were  born  on  that  day  that  my 
father  and  his  sister  were  called  Adam  and  Eve.  I  am 
also  quite  sure  that  the  year  of  my  aunt's  birth  was  1801, 
and  my  father's  1803,  and  should  be  very  much  surprised 
if  my  memory  served  me  false  in  that  respect.  But  I 
repeat  it,  the  exact  dates  are  inscribed  on  my  aunt's  grave. 
...  I  looked  up  since  I  saw  you  a  prayer  book  which  I 
possess  in  which  the  dates  of  the  birth  are  consigned,  and 
thus  found  1801,  and  I  think  it  is  the  correct  one,  but  at 
all  events  I  repeat  it  once  more,  the  exact  date  is  engraved 
on  her  monument. 

"(2)  Caroline  Rzewuska,  my  aunt's  eldest  sister,  and 
the  eldest  of  the  whole  family,  is  the  Madame  Cherko- 
witsch  of  Balzac's  letters,  and  not  Shikoff,  as  the  family 
sketch  says.  It  is  equally  ridiculous  to  say  that  some 
people  aver  she  was  married  four  times,  and  had  General 
Witte  for  a  husband;  but  Witte  was  a  great  admirer  of 
hers  at  the  time  she  was  Mme.  Sobanska.  There  is  also 
a  detail  connected  with  her  which  is  very  little  known,  and 
that  is  that  she  nearly  married  Sainte-Beuve,  and  that  the 
marriage  was  broken  off  a  few  days  before  the  one  fixed 
for  it  to  take  place.  That  was  before  she  married  Jules 
Lacroix,  and  wicked  people  say  that  it  was  partly  disap- 
pointment at  having  been  unable  to  become  the  wife  of  the 
great  critic,  which  made  her  accept  the  former. 

"(3)  My  aunt  Pauline  was  married  to  a  Serbian  banker 


204     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

settled  in  Odessa,  a  very  rich  man  called  Jean  Riznitsch, 
but  he  was  neither  a  General,  nor  a  Baron.  Her  second 
daughter,  Alexandrine,  married  Mr.  Ciechanowiecki  who 
also  never  could  boast  of  a  title,  and  whose  father  had 
never  been  Minister  de  Vlnterieur  en  Pologne. 

"(4)  My  aunt  Eve  was  neither  married  in  1818  nor  in 
1822  to  Mr.  Hanski,  but  in  1820.  It  was  not  because  of 
revers  de  -fortune  that  she  was  married  to  him,  but  it 
was  the  custom  in  Polish  noble  families  to  try  to  settle 
girls  as  richly  as  possible.  Later  on,  my  grandfather  lost 
a  great  deal  of  money,  but  this  circumstance,  which  oc- 
curred after  my  aunt's  marriage,  had  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
My  grandfather, —  this  by  the  way, —  was  a  very  remark- 
able man,  a  personal  friend  of  Voltaire.  You  will  find 
interesting  details  about  him  in  an  amusing  book  published 
by  Ernest  Daudet,  called  La  Correspondence  du  Comte 
Valentin  Esterhazy,  in  the  first  volume,  where  among  other 
things  is  described  the  birth  of  my  aunt  Helene,  whose 
personality  interests  you  so  much,  a  birth  which  nearly 
killed  her  mother.  Besides  Helene,  my  grandparents  had 
still  another  daughter  who  also  died  unmarried,  at  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  and  who,  judging  by  her  pictures,  must 
have  been  a  wonder  of  beauty;  also  a  son  Stanislas,  who 
was  killed  accidentally  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  in  1826. 

"(5)  My  uncle  Ernest  was  not  the  second  son  of  his 
parents,  but  the  youngest  in  the  whole  family."  47 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Balzac  wished  to  have  his 
works  advertised  in  newspapers  circulating  in  foreign 
countries  and  wrote  his  publisher  to  advertise  in  the  Ga- 
zette and  the  Quotidienne,  as  they  were  the  only  papers 
admitted  into  Russia,  Italy,  etc.  He  repeated  this  request 
some  months  later,  by  which  time  he  not  only  knew  that 

47  Private  papers  of  the  present  author. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        205 

I'Etrangere  read  the  Quotidienne,  but  he  had  become  inter- 
ested in  her. 

As  has  been  mentioned,  it  is  a  strange  coincidence  that 
this  first  letter  from  I'Etrangere  arrived  on  the  very  day 
that  the  novelist  wrote  accepting  the  invitation  of  the 
Duchesse  de  Castries.  Balzac  doubtless  little  dreamed 
that  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  correspondence  which 
was  destined  to  change  the  whole  current  of  his  life. 

Many  versions  have  been  given  as  to  what  this  letter 
contained,  some  saying  that  Madame  Hanska  had  been 
reading  the  Peau  de  Chagrin,  others,  the  Physiologie  dit 
Manage,  and  others,  the  Maison  du  Chat-qui-pelote,  but  if 
the  letter  no  longer  exists  how  is  one  to  prove  what  it  con- 
tained? Yet  it  must  have  impressed  Balzac,  for  he 
wanted  to  dedicate  to  her  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Scenes 
de  la  Vie  privee  in  placing  her  seal  and  "  Diis  ignotis  28 
fevrier  1832  "  at  the  head  of  V Expiation,  the  last  chapter 
of  La  Femme  de  trente  Ans,  which  he  was  writing  when 
her  letter  arrived,  but  Madame  de  Berny  objected,  so  he 
saved  the  only  copy  of  that  dedication  and  wished  Ma- 
dame Hanska  to  keep  it  as  a  souvenir,  and  as  an  expres- 
sion of  his  thanks. 

According  to  Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  Balzac  showed 
one  of  Madame  Hanska's  letters  to  Madame  Carraud, 
and  she  answered  it  for  him;  but  with  his  usual  skill  in 
answering  severe  cross-examinations,  he  replies : 

"  You  have  asked  me  with  distrust  to  give  an  explana- 
tion of  my  two  handwritings ;  but  I  have  as  many  hand- 
writings as  there  are  days  in  the  year,  without  being  on 
that  account  the  least  in  the  world  versatile.  This  mo- 
bility comes  from  an  imagination  which  can  conceive  all 


206     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

and  remain  virgin,  like  glass  which  is  soiled  by  none  of 
its  reflections.     The  glass  is  in  my  brain."  48 

In  this  same  letter,  which  is  the  second  given,  Balzac 
writes:  "...  I  am  galloping  towards  Poland,  and  re- 
reading all  your  letters, —  I  have  but  three  of  them,  .  .  ." 
If  this  last  statement  be  true,  the  answer  to  Spoelberch  de 
Lovenjoul's  question,  "  How  many  letters  did  Balzac  re- 
ceive thus  ?  "  is  not  difficult. 

Miss  Wormeley  seems  to  be  correct  in  saying  that  this 
second  letter  is  inconsistent  with  the  preceding  one  dated 
also  in  January,  1833,  showing  an  arbitrary  system  of  dat- 
ing. There  are  others  which  are  inconsistent,  if  not  im- 
possible, but  if  Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul  after  the  death 
of  Madame  Honore  de  Balzac  found  these  letters  scattered 
about  in  various  places,  as  he  states,  it  is  quite  possible  that 
contents  as  well  as  dates  are  confused.49 

The  husband  of  Madame  Hanska,  M.  Wenceslas  de 
Hanski,  who  was  never  a  count,  but  a  very  rich  man,  was 
many  years  her  senior,  and  suffered  from  "  blue  devils  " 
and  paresis  a  long  time  before  his  death.  Though  he  was 
very  generous  with  his  wife  in  allowing  her  to  travel,  she 
often  suffered  from  ennui  in  her  beautifully  furnished 
chateau  of  Wierzchownia,  which  Balzac  described  as  be- 
ing "  as  large  as  the  Louvre."  This  was  a  great  exag- 
geration, for  it  was  comparatively  small,  having  only 
about  thirty  rooms.  With  her  husband,  her  little  daugh- 
ter Anna,  her  daughter's  governess,  Mademoiselle  Henri- 

48  Leitres  a  I'tLtrangerc,  v.  I,  p.  6,  end  of  January,  1833. 

49 One  can  see  at  once  the  injustice  of  the  criticism  of  M.  Henry 
Bordeaux,  la  Grande  Revue,  November,  1899,  pp.  452,  463,  in  censur- 
ing Madame  Hanska  for  publishing  her  letters  from  Balzac. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        207 

ette  Borel,  and  two  Polish  relatives,  Mesdemoiselles  Sev- 
erine  and  Denise  Wylezynska,  she  led  a  lonely  life  and 
spent  much  of  her  time  in  reading,  or  writing  letters. 
The  household  comprised  the  only  people  of  education 
for  miles  around. 

Having  lost  six  of  her  seven  children,  and  being  an  in- 
tensely maternal  woman,  the  deepest  feelings  of  her  heart 
were  devoted  to  her  daughter  Anna,  who  also  was  des- 
tined to  occupy  much  of  the  time  and  thought  of  the 
author  of  the  Comedie  humaine. 

If  the  letters  printed  in  Un  Roman  d' Amour  are  genu- 
ine, in  the  one  dated  January  8,  1833,  she  speaks  of  having 
received  with  delight  the  copy  of  the  Quotidienne  in 
which  his  notice  is  inserted.  She  tells  him  that  M.  de 
Hanski  with  his  family  are  coming  nearer  France,  and  she 
wishes  to  arrange  some  way  for  him  to  answer  her  let- 
ters, but  he  must  never  try  to  ascertain  who  the  person  is 
who  will  transmit  his  letters  to  her,  and  the  greatest 
secrecy  must  be  preserved. 

It  is  not  known  how  she  arranged  to  have  him  send  his 
letters,  but  he  wrote  her  about  once  a  month  from  Janu- 
ary to  September,  and  after  that  more  frequently,  as  he 
was  arranging  to  visit  her.  M.  de  Hanski  with  his  nu- 
merous family  had  come  to  Neufchatel  in  July,  having 
stopped  in  Vienna  on  the  way.  Here  Balzac  was  to  meet 
l'£trangere  for  the  first  time.  He  left  Paris  September 
22,  stopping  to  make  a  business  visit  to  his  friend,  Charles 
Bernard,  at  Besangon,  and  arriving  at  Neufchatel  Septem- 
ber 25.50  On  the  morning  after  his  arrival,  he  writes  her : 

50  Although  this  letter  to  M.  Bernard  is  dated  August,  1833,  Balzac 
evidently  meant  September,  for  there  was  no  Sunday,  August  22,  in 


"  I  shall  go  to  the  Promenade  of  the  faubourg  from  one 
o'clock  till  four.  I  shall  remain  during  that  time  look- 
ing at  the  lake,  which  I  have  never  seen."  51 

Just  what  happened  when  they  met,  no  one  knows. 
The  Princess  Radziwill  says  that  her  aunt  told  her  that 
Balzac  called  at  her  hotel  to  meet  her  and  that  there  was 
nothing  romantic  in  their  introduction.  Nevertheless,  the 
most  varied  and  amusing  stories  have  been  told  of  their 
first  meeting. 

Balzac  remained  in  Neufchatel  until  October  I,  having 
made  a  visit  of  five  days.  He  took  a  secret  box  to 
Madame  Hanska  in  which  to  keep  his  letters,  having  pro- 
vided himself  with  a  similar  one  in  which  to  keep  hers. 
If  we  are  to  credit  the  disputed  letter  of  Saturday,  October 
12,  we  may  learn  something  of  what  took  place.  Even 
before  meeting  Madame  Hanska,  he  had  inserted  her 
name  in  one  of  his  books,  calling  the  young  girl  loved  by 
M.  Beriassis  "  Evelina  "  (Le  Medecin  de  Campagne).52 

Early  in  October  M.  de  Hanski  took  his  family  to  Gen- 
eva to  spend  the  winter.  After  Balzac's  departure  from 
Neufchatel  the  tone  of  his  letters  to  Madame  Hanska 
changed;  he  used  the  tutoiement,  and  his  adoration  in- 
creased. For  a  while  he  wrote  her  a  daily  account  of  his 
life  and  dispatched  the  journal  to  her  weekly. 

Madame  Hanska  came  into  Balzac's  life  at  a  psycholog- 
ical moment.  From  his  youth,  his  longing  was  "  to  be  fa- 
mous and  to  be  loved."  Having  found  the  emptiness  of  a 

1833.  He  did  not  leave  Paris  until  Sunday,  September  22,  1833. 
See  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balsac,  v.  I,  p.  372;  also  Lettres  a 
VfHrangere,  v.  I,  pp.  38-45. 

51  Lettres  a  I'fLtrangere,  v.  I,  pp.  44,  56,  September  26,  1833. 

52  See  the  chapter  on  Mademoiselle  de  Trumilly. 


Mme.  de  Berny 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       209 

life  of  fame  alone,  having  apparently  grown  weary  of  the 
poor  Duchesse  d'Abrantes,  about  to  cease  his  intimacy 
with  Madame  de  Berny,  having  been  rejected  by  Made- 
moiselle de  Trumilly,  and  having  suffered  bitterly  at  the 
hands  of  the  Duchesse  de  Castries,  he  embraced  this 
friendship  with  a  new  hope,  and  became  Madame  Han- 
ska's  slave. 

If  Balzac  was  charmed  with  the  stories  of  the  daughter 
of  the  femme  de  chambre  of  Marie  Antoinette,  was  infat- 
uated with  a  woman  who  had  known  Napoleon,  and  flat- 
tered by  being  invited  to  the  home  of  one  of  the  beautiful 
society  ladies  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  what  must 
have  been  his  joy  in  learning  that  his  new  Chatelaine 
belonged  to  one  of  the  most  aristocratic  families  of  Po- 
land, the  grandniece  of  Queen  Marie  Leczinska,  the 
daughter  of  the  wise  Comte  de  Rzewuska,  and  the  wife  of 
one  of  the  richest  men  of  Russia ! 

But  Madame  Hanska  was  a  very  different  woman  from 
the  kind,  self-sacrificing,  romantic  Madame  de  Berny ;  the 
witty  splendor-loving,  indulgent,  poverty-stricken  Duch- 
esse d'Abrantes ;  or  the  frail,  dazzling,  blond  coquette,  the 
Duchesse  de  Castries.  With  more  strength  physically 
and  mentally  than  her  rivals,  she  possessed  a  marked  au- 
thoritativeness  that  was  not  found  in  Madame  de  Berny, 
a  breadth  of  vision  impossible  to  Madame  Junot,  and 
freedom  from  the  frivolity  and  coquetry  of  Madame  de 
Castries. 

The  Princess  Radziwill  feels  that  the  Polish  woman 
who  has  come  down  to  posterity  merely  as  the  object  of 
Balzac's  adoration,  should  be  known  as  the  being  to  whom 
he  was  indebted  for  the  development  of  his  marvelous 


210     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

genius,  and  as  his  collaborator  in  many  of  his  works. 
According  to  the  Princess,  Modeste  Mignon  is  almost  en- 
tirely the  work  of  Madame  Hanska's  pen.  She  gives  this 
description  of  her  aunt,  which  corresponds  to  Balzac's 
continual  reference  to  her  "  analytical  forehead  "  : 

"  Madame  de  Balzac  was  perhaps  not  so  brilliant  in 
conversation  as  were  her  brothers  and  sisters.  Her  mind 
had  something  pedantic  in  it,  and  she  was  rather  a  good 
listener  than  a  good  talker,  but  whatever  she  said  was  to 
the  point,  and  she  was  eloquent  with  her  pen.  She  had 
that  large  glance  only  given  to  superior  minds  which  al- 
lows them,  according  to  the  words  of  Catherine  of  Russia, 
'  to  read  the  future  in  the  history  of  the  past.'  She  ob- 
served everything,  was  indulgent  to  every  one.  .  .  .  Her 
family,  who  stood  in  more  or  less  awe  of  her,  treated  her 
with  great  respect  and  consideration.  .  .  .  We  all  of  us 
had  a  great  opinion  of  the  soundness  of  her  judgments, 
and  liked  to  consult  her  in  any  difficulty  or  embarrassment 
in  our  existence."  53 

No  sooner  had  Balzac  returned  from  his  visit  to  Neuf- 
chatel  intoxicated  with  joy,  than  he  began  to  plan  his  visit 
to  Geneva.  He  would  work  day  and  night  to  be  able  to 
get  away  for  a  fortnight;  he  decided  later  to  spend  a 
month  there,  but  he  did  not  arrive  until  Christmas  day. 
In  the  meantime,  he  referred  to  their  promise  (to  marry) 
which  was  as  holy  and  sacred  to  him  as  their  mutual  life, 
and  he  truly  described  his  love  as  the  most  ardent,  the 
most  persistent  of  loves.  Adoremus  in  aeternum  had  be- 
come their  device,  and  Madame  Hanska,  not  having  as  yet 

63  Madame  de  Balzac,  the  Critic,  v.  45,  p.  239,  1904. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        211 

become  accustomed  to  his  continual  financial  embarrass- 
ment, wished  to  provide  him  with  money,  an  offer  which 
is  reproduced  in  Eugenie  Grandet. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Geneva  the  novelist  found  a  ring 
awaiting  him;  he  considered  it  as  a  talisman,  wore  it 
working,  and  it  inspired  Seraphita.  He  became  her 
moujik  and  signed  his  name  Honoreski.  She  became 
his  "  love,"  his  "  life,"  his  "  rose  of  the  Occident,"  his 
"  star  of  the  North,"  his  "  fairy  of  the  tiyeuilles,"  his 
"  only  thought,"  his  "  celestial  angel,"  the  end  of  all  for 
him.  "  You  shall  be  the  young  dilecta, —  already  I  name 
you  the  predilecta."  54 

His  adoration  became  such  that  he  writes  her :  "  My 
loved  angel,  I  am  almost  mad  for  you  ...  I  cannot  put 
two  ideas  together  that  you  do  not  come  between  them.  I 
can  think  of  nothing  but  you.  In  spite  of  myself  my  im- 
agination brings  me  back  to  you.  .  .  ."  55  It  was  during 
his  stay  in  Geneva  that  Madame  Hanska  presented  her 
chain  to  him,  which  he  used  later  on  his  cane. 

Balzac  left  Geneva  February  8,  1834,  having  spent 
forty-four  days  with  his  Predilecta,  but  his  work  was  not 
entirely  neglected.  While  there,  he  wrote  almost  all  of 
La  Duchesse  de  Langeais,  and  a  large  part  of  Seraphita. 
This  work,  which  she  inspired,  was  dedicated 

"  To  Madame  Eveline  de  Hanska,  nee  Countess  Rzewuska. 

"  Madame :  —  here  is  the  work  you  desired  of  me ;  in 

dedicating  it  to  you  I  am  happy  to  offer  you  some  token 

54 Lettres  a  I'Etrangere,  v.  I,  p.  in,  January  1834.  Balzac  was 
imitating  Madame  Hanska's  pronunciation  of  tilleuls  in  having  Ma- 
dame Vaquer  (Pcre  Goriot)  pronounce  it  tieuilles. 

55  Op.  cit.,  p.  116,  January  19,  1834. 


2i2      WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

of  the  respectful  affection  you  allow  me  to  feel  for  you. 
If  I  should  be  accused  of  incapacity  after  trying  to  extract 
from  the  depths  of  mysticism  this  book,  which  demanded 
the  glowing  poetry  of  the  East  under  the  transparency  of 
our  beautiful  language,  the  blame  be  yours !  Did  you  not 
compel  me  to  the  effort  —  such  an  effort  as  Jacob's  —  by 
telling  me  that  even  the  most  imperfect  outline  of  the 
figure  dreamed  of  by  you,  as  it  has  been  by  me  from  my 
infancy,  would  still  be  something  in  your  eyes?  Here, 
then,  is  that  something.  Why  cannot  this  book  be  set 
apart  exclusively  for  those  lofty  spirits  who,  like  you, 
are  preserved  from  worldly  pettiness  by  solitude?  They 
might  impress  on  it  the  melodious  rhythm  which  it  lacks, 
and  which,  in  the  hands  of  one  of  our  poets,  might  have 
made  it  the  glorious  epic  for  which  France  still  waits. 
Still,  they  will  accept  it  from  me  as  one  of  those  balus- 
trades, carved  by  some  artist  full  of  faith,  on  which  the 
pilgrims  lean  to  meditate  on  the  end  of  man,  while  gazing 
at  the  choir  of  a  beautiful  church.  I  remain,  madame, 
with  respect,  your  faithful  servant, 

•'  DE  BALZAC." 

In  the  spring  of  1834,  M.  de  Hanski  and  his  family  left 
Geneva  for  Florence,  traveled  for  a  few  months,  and  ar- 
rived in  Vienna  during  the  summer,  where  they  remained 
for  about  a  year.  But  Balzac  continued  his  correspond- 
ence with  Madame  Hanska.  She  was  interested  in  col- 
lecting the  autographs  of  famous  people,  and  Balzac  not 
only  had  an  album  made  for  her,  but  helped  her  collect  the 
signatures. 

More  infatuated,  if  possible,  than  ever  with  her,  he 
wanted  her  to  secure  her  husband's  consent  for  him  to 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        213 

visit  them  at  Rome.  Then  he  felt  that  he  must  go  to 
Vienna,  see  the  Danube,  explore  the  battlefields  of  Wag- 
ram  and  Essling,  and  have  pictures  made  representing  the 
uniforms  of  the  German  army. 

In  La  Recherche  de  I'Absolu,  he  gave  the  name  of 
Adam  de  Wierzchownia  to  a  Polish  gentleman,  Wierz- 
chownia  being  the  name  of  Madame  Hanska's  home  in 
the  Ukraine.  "  I  have  amused  myself  like  a  boy  in  nam- 
ing a  Pole,  M.  de  Wierzchownia,  and  bringing  him  on  the 
scene  in  La  Recherche  de  I'Absolu.  That  was  a  longing  I 
could  not  resist,  and  I  beg  your  pardon  and  that  of  M.  de 
Hanski  for  the  great  liberty.  You  could  not  believe  how 
that  printed  page  fascinates  me!"56  He  writes  her  of 
another  character,  La  Fosseuse,  (Le  Medecin  de  Cam- 
pagne)  :  "Ah!  if  I  had  known  your  features,  I  would 
have  pleased  myself  in  having  them  engraved  as  La  Fos- 
seuse. But  though  I  have  memory  enough  for  myself,  I 
should  not  have  enough  for  a  painter."  56 

Either  Balzac's  adoration  became  too  ardent,  or  dis- 
pleasure was  caused  in  some  other  way,  for  no  letters  to 
Madame  Hanska  appear  from  August  26  to  October  19, 
1834.  In  the  meantime,  a  long  letter  was  written  to  M. 
de  Hanski  apologizing  for  two  letters  written  to  his  wife. 
He  explained  that  one  evening  she  jestingly  remarked  to 
him,  beside  the  lake  of  Geneva,  that  she  would  like  to 
know  what  a  love-letter  was  like,  so  he  promised  to  write 
her  one.  Being  reminded  of  this  promise,  he  sent  her 
one,  and  received  a  cold  letter  of  reproof  from  her  after 
another  letter  was  on  the  way  to  her.  Receiving  a  second 
56  Lettres  a  I'fctrangere,  v.  i,  pp.  168,  169,  July  i,  1834. 


214     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

rebuke,  he  was  desperate  over  the  pleasantry,  and  wished 
to  atone  for  this  by  presenting  to  her,  with  M.  de  Hanski's 
permission,  some  manuscripts  already  sent.  He  wished 
to  send  her  the  manuscript  of  Seraphita  also,  and  to  dedi- 
cate this  book  to  her,  if  they  could  forgive  him  this  error, 
for  which  he  alone  was  to  be  censured. 

Balzac  was  evidently  pardoned,  for  he  not  only  dedi- 
cated Seraphita  to  her,  as  has  been  shown,  but  arrived  in 
Vienna  on  May  16,  1835,  to  visit  her,  bringing  with  him 
this  manuscript.  His  stay  was  rather  short,  lasting  only 
to  June  4.  While  there,  he  was  quite  busy  working  on 
Le  Lys  dans  la  Vallee,  and  declined  many  invitations.  To 
get  his  twelve  hours  of  work,  he  had  to  retire  at  nine 
o'clock  in  order  to  rise  at  three ;  this  monastic  rule  domi- 
nated everything.  He  yielded  something  of  his  stern  ob- 
servance to  Madame  Hanska  by  giving  himself  three 
hours'  more  freedom  than  in  Paris,  where  he  retired  at 
six. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  Vienna,  the  novelist  was  in- 
formed that  a  package  from  Vienna  was  held  for  him 
with  thirty-six  francs  due.  Having,  of  course,  no  money, 
he  sent  his  servant  in  a  cab  for  the  package,  telling  him 
where  he  could  secure  the  money  and,  dead  or  alive,  to 
bring  the  package.  After  spending  four  hours  in  an 
agony  of  anticipation,  wondering  what  Madame  Hanska 
could  be  sending  him,  his  messenger  arrived  with  a  copy 
of  Pere  Goriot  which  he  had  given  her  in  Vienna  with  the 
request  that  she  give  it  to  some  one  to  whom  it  might 
afford  pleasure. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  while  in  Vienna,  Balzac's 
financial  strain  became  such  that  his  sister  Laure  pawned 


215 

his  silver.  He  afterwards  admitted  that  the  journey  to 
Vienna  was  the  greatest  folly  of  his  life;  it  cost  him  five 
thousand  francs  and  upset  all  his  affairs.  He  had  other 
financial  troubles  also,  but  found  time  and  means  to  con- 
sult a  somnambulist  frequently  as  to  his  Predilecta,  and 
regretted  that  he  did  not  have  one  or  two  soothsayers,  so 
that  he  might  know  daily  about  her.  His  superstition  is 
seen  early  in  their  correspondence  where  he  considered  it  a 
good  omen  that  Madame  Hanska  had  sent  him  the  Imita- 
tion de  Jesus-Christ  while  he  was  working  on  Le  Medecin 
de  Campagne.  Again  and  again  he  insisted  that  she  tell 
him  when  any  of  her  family  were  ill,  feeling  that  he  could 
cure  at  a  distance  those  whom  he  loved ;  or  that  she  should 
send  him  a  piece  of  cloth  worn  next  to  her  person,  that  he 
might  present  this  to  a  clairvoyant. 

After  delving  deeply  into  mysticism,  and  writing  some 
books  dealing  with  it,  the  novelist  writes  his  "  Polar 
Star": 

*'  I  am  sorry  to  see  that  you  are  reading  the  mystics : 
believe  me,  this  sort  of  reading  is  fatal  to  minds  like  yours ; 
it  is  a  poison ;  it  is  an  intoxicating  narcotic.  These  books 
have  a  bad  influence.  There  are  follies  of  virtue  as  there 
are  follies  of  dissipation  and  vice.  If  you  were  not  a 
wife,  a  mother,  a  friend,  a  relation,  I  would  not  seek  to 
dissuade  you,  for  then  you  might  go  and  shut  yourself 
up  in  a  convent  at  your  pleasure  without  hurting  anybody, 
although  you  would  soon  die  there.  In  your  situation, 
and  in  your  isolation  in  the  midst  of  those  deserts,  this 
kind  of  reading,  believe  me,  is  pernicious.  The  rights  of 
friendship  are  too  feeble  to  make  my  voice  heard ;  but  let 
me  at  least  make  an  earnest  and  humble  request  on  this 


2i6     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

subject.  Do  not,  I  beg  of  you,  ever  read  anything  more 
of  this  kind.  IJjiave  myself  gone  through  all  this,  and  I 
speak  from  experience."  57 

As  has  been  stated,  Madame  Hanska  was  of  assistance 
to  Balzac  in  his  literary  work.  He  used  her  ideas  fre- 
quently, and  was  gracious  in  expressing  his  appreciation 
of  them  to  her: 

"  I  must  tell  you  that  yesterday  ...  I  copied  out  your 
portrait  of  Mademoiselle  Celeste,  and  I  said  to  two  un- 
compromising judges :  '  Here  is  a  sketch  I  have  flung 
on  paper.  I  wanted  to  paint  a  woman  under  given  cir- 
cumstances, and  launch  her  into  life  through  such  and 
such  an  event.'  What  do  you  think  they  said? --'Read 
that  portrait  again.'  After  which  they  said :  — '  That  is 
your  masterpiece.  You  have  never  before  had  that  laisser- 
aller  of  a  writer  which  shows  the  hidden  strength.'  '  Ha, 
ha ! '  I  answered,  striking  my  head ;  '  that  comes  from 
the  forehead  of  an  analyst.'  I  kneel  at  your  feet  for  this 
violation ;  but  I  left  out  all  that  was  personal.  ...  I 
thank  you  for  your  glimpses  of  Viennese  society.  What 
I  have  learned  about  Germans  in  their  relations  elsewhere 
confirms  what  you  say  of  them.  Your  story  of  General 

H comes  up  periodically.     There  has  been  something 

like  it  in  all  countries,  but  I  thank  you  for  having  told  it 
to  me.  The  circumstances  give  it  novelty."  58 

Though  Balzac's  letters  to  Madame  Hanska  became  less 
effervescent  as  time  went  on,  each  year  seemed  to  add  to 

57  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  \.  2,  p.  43,  October  1836. 

5SLettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  pp.  210,  239,  November  26,  1834, 
March  n,  1835.  This  is  only  one  of  the  numerous  allusions  Balzac 
made  to  the  analytical  forehead  of  Madame  Hanska. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       217 

his  admiration  and  "  dog-like  fidelity."  She,  on  the  other 
hand,  complained  of  his  dissipation,  the  society  he  kept, 
and  his  short  letters. 

While  Balzac  was  in  Vienna,  he  was  working  on  Le  Lys 
dans  la  Vallee.  Although  he  said  that  Madame  de  Mort- 
sauf  was  Madame  de  Berny,  M.  Adam  Rzewuski,  a 
brother  of  Madame  Hanska,  always  felt  that  this  charac- 
ter represented  his  sister,  and  called  attention  to  the  same 
intense  maternal  feeling  of  the  two  women,  and  the  same 
sickly,  morose  husband.  The  Princess  Radziwill  also 
believes  that  this  is  a  portrait  of  her  aunt,  which  hypothe- 
sis is  further  strengthened  by  comments  of  fimile  Faguet, 
who  says  that  to  one  who  has  read  Balzac's  letters  in 
1834-1835  closely,  it  is  clear  that  Madame  de  Mortsauf  is 
Madame  Hanska,  and  that  the  marvelous  M.  de  Mortsauf 
is  M.  de  Hanski. 

Mr.  F.  Lawton  also  thinks  that  Balzac  has  shown  his 
relations  to  Madame  Hanska  in  making  Felix  de  Vanden- 
esse  console  himself  with  Lady  Dudley  while  swearing 
high  allegiance  to  his  Henriette,  just  as  Balzac  was  "  in- 
diting oaths  of  fidelity  to  his  '  earth-angel '  in  far-away 
Russia  while  worshiping  at  shrines  more  accessible. 
Lady  Dudley  may  well  have  been,  for  all  his  denial,  the 
Countess  Visconti,  of  whom  Madame  Hanska  was  jeal- 
ous and  on  good  grounds,  or  else  the  Duchesse  de  Castries, 
to  whom  he  said  that  while  writing  the  book  he  had  caught 
himself  shedding  tears."  59  Balzac  says  of  this  book : 

"  I  have  received  five  formal  complaints  from  persons 
about  me,  who  say  that  I  have  unveiled  their  private  lives. 
69  Balzac,  pp.  98,  99. 


2i8     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

I  have  very  curious  letters  on  this  subject.  It  appears 
that  there  are  as  many  Messieurs  de  Mortsauf  as  there  are 
angels  at  Clochegourde,  and  angels  rain  down  upon  me, 
but  they  are  not  white."  60 

In  the  early  autumn  of  1835,  M.  de  Hanski  and  his 
family,  having  spent  several  weeks  at  Ischl,  returned  to 
their  home  at  Wierzchownia  after  an  absence  of  more 
than  two  years.  It  was  during  this  long  stay  at  Vienna 
that  Madame  Hanska  had  Daffinger  make  the  miniature 
which  occupies  so  much  space  in  Balzac's  letters  in  later 
years. 

It  must  have  been  a  relief  to  poor  Balzac  when  his  Cha- 
telaine returned  to  her  home,  for  while  traveling  she  was 
negligent  about  giving  him  her  address,  so  that  he  was 
never  sure  whether  she  received  all  his  letters,  and  she  did 
not  number  hers,  as  he  had  asked  her  to  do,  so  he  was  not 
certain  that  he  received  all  that  she  wrote  him;  neither 
would  she  —  though  leading  a  life  of  leisure  —  write  as 
often  as  he  wished.  But  if  he  scolded  her  for  this,  she 
had  other  matters  to  worry  her.  She  was  ever  anxious 
about  the  safety  of  her  letters,  asked  for  many  explana- 
tions of  his  conduct,  for  interpretations  of  various  things 
in  his  works,  and  who  certain  friends  were,  so  much  so 
that  his  letters  are  filled  with  vindications  of  himself. 
Even  before  they  had  ever  met,  he  wrote  her  that  he  could 
not  take  a  step  that  was  not  misinterpreted.  She  seemed 
continually  to  be  hearing  of  something  derogatory  to  his 
character,  and  trying  to  investigate  his  actions.  The 
reader  has  had  glimpses  enough  of  Balzac's  life  to  under- 
stand what  a  task  was  hers.  Yet  she  doubtless  sometimes 

60  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  351,  September  30,  1836. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        219 

accused  him  unnecessarily,  and  he  in  turn  became  impa- 
tient : 

"  This  letter  contains  two  reproaches  which  have  keenly 
affected  me;  and  I  think  I  have  already  told  you  that  a 
few  chance  expressions  would  suffice  to  make  me  go  to 
Wierzchownia,  which  would  be  a  misfortune  in  my  pres- 
ent perilous  situation ;  but  I  would  rather  lose  everything 
than  lose  a  true  friendship.  ...  In  short,  you  distrust  me 
at  a  distance,  just  as  you  distrusted  me  near  by,  without 
any  reason.  I  read  quite  despairingly  the  paragraph  of 
your  letter  in  which  you  do  the  honors  of  my  heart  to  my 
mind,  and  sacrifice  my  whole  personality  to  my  brain.  .  .  . 
In  your  last  letters,  you  know,  you  have  believed  things 
that  are  irreconcilable  with  what  you  know  of  me.  I 
cannot  explain  to  myself  your  tendency  to  believe  absurd 
calumnies.  I  still  remember  your  credulity  in  Geneva, 
when  they  said  I  was  married."  61 

Even  her  own  family  added  to  her  suspicions : 

".  .  .  Your  letter  has  crushed  me  more  than  all  the 
heavy  nonsense  that  jealousy  and  calumny,  lawsuit  and 
money  matters  have  cast  upon  me.  My  sensibility  is  a 
proof  of  friendship ;  there  are  none  but  those  we  love  who 
can  make  us  suffer.  I  am  not  angry  with  your  aunt,  but 
I  am  angry  that  a  person  as  distinguished  as  you  say  she 
is  should  be  accessible  to  such  base  and  absurd  calumny. 
But  you  yourself,  at  Geneva,  when  I  told  you  I  was  as 
free  as  air,  you  believed  me  to  be  married,  on  the  word 
of  one  of  those  fools  whose  trade  it  is  to  sell  money.  I 
began  to  laugh.  Here,  I  no  longer  laugh,  because  I  have 

81  Lettres  a  I'&trangere,  v.  i,  pp.  291,  344,  January  18,  1836,  July 
13,  1836. 


220     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

the  horrible  privilege  of  being  horribly  calumniated.  A 
few  more  controversies  like  the  last,  and  I  shall  retire  to 
the  remotest  part  of  Touraine,  isolating  myself  from 
everything,  renouncing  all,  .  .  .  Think  always  that  what 
I  do  has  a  reason  and  an  object,  that  my  actions  are 
necessary.  There  is,  for  two  souls  that  are  a  little  above 
others,  something  mortifying  in  repeating  to  you  for  the 
tenth  time  not  to  believe  in  calumny.  When  you  said  to 
me  three  letters  ago,  that  I  gambled,  it  was  just  as  true 
as  my  marriage  at  Geneva.  .  .  .  You  attribute  to  me  little 
defects  which  I  do  not  have  to  give  yourself  the  pleasure 
of  scolding  me.  No  one  is  less  extravagant  than  I;  no 
one  is  willing  to  live  with  more  economy.  But  reflect 
that  I  work  too  much  to  busy  myself  with  certain  details, 
and,  in  short,  that  I  had  rather  spend  five  to  six  thousand 
francs  a  year  than  marry  to  have  order  in  my  household ; 
for  a  man  who  undertakes  what  I  have  undertaken 
either  marries  to  have  a  quiet  existence,  or  accepts  the 
wretchedness  of  La  Fontaine  and  Rousseau.  For  pity's 
sake,  do  not  talk  to  me  of  my  want  of  order;  it  is  the 
consequence  of  the  independence  in  which  I  live,  and  which 
I  desire  to  keep."  62 

In  spite  of  these  reproaches,  Balzac's  affection  for  her 
continued,  and  he  decided  to  have  his  portrait  made  for 
her.  Boulanger  was  the  artist  chosen,  and  since  he 
wished  payment  at  once,  Madame  Hanska  sent  the  novel- 
ist a  sum  for  this  purpose.  For  a  Christmas  greeting, 
1836,  she  sent  him  a  copy  of  the  Daffinger  miniature  made 
at  Vienna  the  preceding  year.  Again  —  this  time  in  Illu- 
sions pcrdues' — he  gave  her  name,  five,  to  a  young  girl 

62Lettres  a  I' Strong  ere,  v.  i,  pp.  335,  356,  375,  June,  October  1836, 
January  15,  1837. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        221 

whom  he  regarded  as  the  most  charming  creature  he  had 
created  (five  Chardon,  who  became  Madame  David 
Sechard). 

In  the  srjrjng^of  1837  Balzac  went  to  Italy  to  spend  a 
few  weeks.  Seeing  at  Florence  a  bust  of  his  Predilecta, 
made  by  Bartolini,  he  asked  M.  de  Hanski's  permission  to 
have  a  copy  of  it,  half  size,  made  for  himself,  to  place  on 
his  writing  desk.  This  journey  aroused  Madame  Han- 
ska's  suspicions  again,  but  he  assured  her  he  was  not  dis- 
sipating, but  was  traveling  to  rejuvenate  his  broken-down 
brain,  since,  working  night  and  day  as  he  did,  a  man  might 
easily  die  of  overstrain. 

He  continued  to  save  his  manuscripts  for  her,  awaiting 
an  opportunity  to  send  or  take  them  to  her.  Her  letters 
became  less  frequent  and  full  of  stings,  but  he  begged  her 
to  disbelieve  everything  she  heard  of  him  except  from 
himself,  as  she  had  almost  a  complete  journal  of  his  life. 
He  explanied  that  the  tour  he  purposed  making  to  the 
Mediterranean  was  neither  for  marriage  nor  for  anything 
adventurous  or  silly,  but  he  was  pledged  to  secrecy,  and, 
whether  it  turned  out  well  or  ill,  he  risked  nothing  but  a 
journey.  As  to  her  reproaches  how  he,  knowing  all,  pen- 
etrating and  observing  all,  could  be  so  duped  and  deceived, 
he  wondered  if  she  could  love  him  if  he  were  always  so 
prudent  that  no  misfortune  ever  happened  to  him. 

In  the  spring  of  1838  he  took  his  Mediterranean  trip, 
going  to  Corsica,  Sardinia  and  Italy  in  quest  of  his  Eldo- 
rado, but,  as  usual,  he  was  doomed  to  meet  with  disap- 
pointment. On  his  return  he  went  to  Les  Jardies  to  re- 
side, which  was  later  to  be  the  cause  of  another  financial 
disaster.  Replying  to  her  criticism  of  his  journey  to 


Sardinia,  he  begged  her  never  to  censure  those  who  feel 
themselves  sunk  in  deep  waters  and  are  struggling  to  the 
surface,  for  the  rich  can  never  comprehend  the  trials  of 
the  unfortunate.  One  must  be  without  friends,  without 
resources,  without  food,  without  money,  to  know  to  its 
depths  what  misfortune  is. 

In  spite  of  her  reproaches  he  continued  to  protest  his 
devotion  to  her.  Though  her  letters  were  cold,  he  begged 
her  to  gaze  on  the  portrait  of  her  moujik  and  feel  that  he 
was  the  most  constant,  least  volatile,  most  steadfast  of 
men.  He  was  willing  to  obey  her  in  all  things  except  in 
his  affections,  and  she  was  complete  mistress  of  those. 
Seized  with  a  burning  desire  to  see  her,  he  planned  a  visit 
to  Wierzchownia  as  soon  as  his  financial  circumstances 
would  permit. 

During  a  period  of  three  months,  Balzac  received  no 
letter  from  his  "  Polar  Star,"  but  he  expressed  his  usual 
fidelity  to  her.  Miserable  or  fortunate,  he  was  always  the 
same  to  her;  it  was  because  of  his  unchangeableness  of 
heart  that  he  was  so  painfully  wounded  by  her  neglect. 
Carried  away,  as  he  often  was,  by  his  torrential  existence, 
he  might  miss  writing  to  her,  but  he  could  not  understand 
how  she  could  deprive  him  of  the  sacred  bread  which  re- 
stored his  courage  and  gave  him  new  life. 

His  long  struggle  with  his  debts  and  his  various  finan- 
cial and  domestic  troubles  seemed  at  times  to  deprive  him 
of  his  usual  hope  and  patience.  In  a  depressed  vein,  he 
replies  to  one  of  her  letters : 

"  Ah !     I  think  you  excessively  small ;  and  it  shows  me 
that  you  are  of  this  world!     Ah!  you  write  to  me  no 


223 

longer  because  my  letters  are  rare !  Well,  they  were  rare 
because  I  often  did  not  have  the  money  to  post  them,  but 
I  would  not  tell  you  that.  Yes,  my  distress  has  reached 
that  point  and  beyond  it.  It  is  horrible  and  sad,  but  it  is 
true,  as  true  as  the  Ukraine  where  you  are.  Yes,  there 
have  been  days  when  I  proudly  ate  a  roll  of  bread  on  the 
boulevard.  I  have  had  the  greatest  sufferings :  self-love, 
pride,  hope,  prospects,  all  have  been  attacked.  But  I 
shall,  I  hope,  surmount  everything.  I  had  not  a  penny, 
but  I  earned  for  those  atrocious  Lecou  and  Delloye  sev- 
enty thousand  francs  in  a  year.  The  Peytel  affair  cost 
me  ten  thousand  francs,  and  people  said  I  was  paid  fifty 
thousand!  That  affair  and  my  fall,  which  kept  me  as 
you  know,  forty  days  in  bed,  retarded  my  business  by 
more  than  thirty  thousand  francs.  Oh!  I  do  not  like 
your  want  of  confidence!  You  think  that  I  have  a  great 
mind,  but  you  will  not  admit  that  I  have  a  great  heart! 
After  nearly  eight  years,  you  do  not  know  me!  My  God, 
forgive  her,  for  she  knows  not  what  she  does !  "  63 

The  novelist  wrote  his  Predilecta  of  his  ideas  of  mar- 
riage, and  how  he  longed  to  marry,  but  he  became  de- 
spondent about  this  as  well  as  about  his  debts ;  he  felt  that 
he  was  growing  old,  and  would  not  live  long.  His  com- 
fort while  working  was  a  picture  of  Wierzchownia  which 
she  had  sent  him,  but  in  addition  to  all  of  his  other 
troubles  he  was  annoyed  because  some  of  her  relatives 
who  were  in  Paris  carried  false  information  to  her  con- 
cerning him. 

Not  having  heard  from  her  for  six  months,  he  resorted 
to  his  frequent  method  of  allaying  his  anxiety  by  consult- 
ing a  clairvoyant  to  learn  if  she  were  ill.  He  was  told 
63  Lettres  a  F£trangcre,  v.  i,  p.  527,  February  1840. 


224    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

that  within  six  weeks  he  would  receive  a  letter  that  would 
change  his  entire  life.  Almost  four  more  months  passed, 
however,  without  his  hearing  from  her  and  he  feared  that 
she  was  not  receiving  his  letters,  or  that  hers  had  gone 
astray,  as  he  no  longer  had  a  home. 

For  once,  the  sorcerer  had  predicted  somewhat  cor- 
rectly! Not  within  six  weeks,  to  be  sure,  but  within  six 
months,  the  letter  came  that  was  to  change  Balzac's  entire 
life.  On  January  5,  1842,  a  letter  arrived  from  Madame 
Hanska,  telling  of  the  death  of  M.  de  Hanski  which  had 
occurred  November  10,  1841. 

His  reply  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  his  letters  to 
her: 

"  I  have  this  instant  received,  dear  angel,  your  letter 
sealed  with  black,  and,  after  having  read  it,  I  could  not 
perhaps  have  wished  to  receive  any  other  from  you,  in 
spite  of  the  sad  things  you  tell  me  about  yourself  and  your 
health.  As  for  me,  dear,  adored  one,  although  this  event 
enables  me  to  attain  to  that  which  I  have  ardently  desired 
for  nearly  ten  years,  I  can,  before  you  and  God,  do  my- 
self this  justice,  that  I  have  never  had  in  my  heart  any- 
thing but  complete  submission,  and  that  I  have  not,  in 
my  most  cruel  moments,  stained  my  soul  with  evil  wishes. 
No  one  can  prevent  involuntary  transports.  Often  I  have 
said  to  myself,  'How  light  my  life  would  be  with  her!' 
No  one  can  keep  his  faith,  his  heart,  his  inner  being  with- 
out hope.  .  .  .  But  I  understand  the  regrets  which  you 
express  to  me ;  they  seem  to  me  natural  and  true,  especially 
after  the  protection  which  has  never  failed  you  since  that 
letter  at  Vienna.  I  am,  however,  joyful  to  know  that  I 
can  write  to  you  with  open  heart  to  tell  you  all  those  things 
on  which  I  have  kept  silence,  and  disperse  the  melancholy 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        225 

complaints  you  have  founded  on  misconceptions,  so  diffi- 
cult to  explain  at  a  distance.  I  know  you  too  well,  or  I 
think  I  know  you  too  well,  to  doubt  you  for  one  moment ; 
and  I  have  often  suffered,  very  cruelly  suffered,  that  you 
have  doubted  me,  because,  since  Neufchatel,  you  are  my 
life.  Let  me  say  this  to  you  plainly,  after  having  so  often 
proved  it  to  you.  The  miseries  of  my  struggle  and  of  my 
terrible  work  would  have  tired  out  the  greatest  and  strong- 
est men;  and  often  my  sister  has  desired  to  put  an  end 
to  them,  God  knows  how ;  I  always  thought  the  remedy 
worse  than  the  disease!  It  is  you  alone  who  have  sup- 
ported me  till  now,  .  .  .  You  said  to  me,  '  Be  patient,  you 
are  loved  as  much  as  you  love.  Do  not  change,  for 
others  change  not.'  We  have  both  been  courageous ;  why, 
therefore,  should  you  not  be  happy  to-day  ?  Do  you  think 
it  was  for  myself  that  I  have  been  so  persistent  in  mag- 
nifying my  name?  Oh!  I  am  perhaps  very  unjust,  but 
this  injustice  comes  from  the  violence  of  my  heart!  I 
would  have  liked  two  words  for  myself  in  your  letter, 
but  I  sought  them  in  vain ;  two  words  for  him  who,  since 
the  landscape  in  which  you  live  has  been  before  his  eyes, 
has  not  passed,  while  working,  ten  minutes  without  look- 
ing at  it ;  I  have  there  sought  all,  ever  since  it  came  to 
me,  that  we  have  asked  in  the  silence  of  our  spirits." 

He  was  concerned  about  her  health  and  wished  to  de- 
part at  once,  but  feared  to  go  without  her  permission. 
She  was  anxious  about  her  letters,  but  he  assured  her  that 
they  were  safe,  and  begged  her  to  inform  him  when  he 
could  visit  her;  for  six  years  he  had  been  longing  to  see 
her.  "Adieu,  my  dear  and  beautiful  life  that  I  love  so 
well,  and  to  whom  I  can  now  say  it.  Sempre  medis- 
imo."  64 

64  Lettres  a  f£trangere,  v.  I,  pp.  571-575,  January  5,  1842. 


226    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

The  role  played  by  M.  de  Hanski  65  in  this  friendship 
was  a  peculiar  one.  The  correspondence,  as  has  been 
seen,  began  in  secrecy,  but  Balzac  met  him  when  he  went 
to  Neufchatel  to  see  Madame  Hanska.  Their  relations 
were  apparently  cordial,  for  on  his  return  to  Paris,  the 
novelist  wrote  him  a  friendly  note,  enclosing  an  auto- 
graph of  Rossini  whom  M.  de  Hanski  admired.  The 
Polish  gentleman  (he  was  never  a  count)  must  have  been 
willing  to  have  Balzac  visit  his  wife  again,  at  Geneva, 
where  their  friendship  seemed  to  grow  warmer.  Balzac 
called  him  I' honorable  Marechal  de  I' Ukraine  or  the  Grand 
Marechal,  and  extended  to  him  his  thanks  or  regards  in 
sending  little  notes  to  Madame  Hanska,  and  thus  he  was 
early  cognizant  of  their  correspondence.  The  future 
author  of  the  Comedie  humaine  seems  to  have  been  taken 
into  the  family  circle  and  to  have  become  somewhat  a 
favorite  of  M.  de  Hanski,  who  was  suffering  with  his 
"  blue  devils  "  at  that  time. 

Since  Balzac  was  not  only  an  excellent  story-teller  but 
naturally  very  jovial,  and  M.  de  Hanski  suffered  from 
ennui  and  wished  to  be  amused,  they  became  friends.  On 
his  return  to  Paris,  they  exchanged  a  few  letters,  and 
Balzac  introduced  stories  to  amuse  him  in  his  letters  to 
Madame  Hanska.  He  wrote  most  graciously  to  the  Mar- 
echal, apologizing  for  the  two  love  letters  he  had  written 
his  wife,  and  this  letter  was  answered.  The  novelist  was 
invited  by  him  to  visit  them  in  Wierzchownia  —  an  invita- 
tion he  planned  to  accept,  but  did  not. 

65  The  present  writer  is  following  the  predominant  custom  of 
using  the  de  in  connection  with  M.  de  Hanski's  name,  and  omitting 
it  in  speaking  of  his  wife. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       227 

In  the  spring  of  1836,  M.  de  Hanski  sent  Balzac  a  very 
handsome  malachite  inkstand,  also  a  cordial  letter  telling 
him  the  family  news,  how  much  he  enjoyed  his  works,  and 
that  he  hoped  with  his  family  to  visit  him  in  Paris  within 
two  years.  He  mentioned  that  his  wife  was  preparing 
for  Balzac  a  long  letter  of  several  pages,  and  assured  him 
of  his  sincere  friendship.  Balzac  was  most  appreciative 
of  the  gift  of  the  beautiful  inkstand,  but  felt  that  it  was 
too  magnificent  for  a  poor  man  to  use,  so  would  place 
it  in  his  collection  and  prize  it  as  one  of  his  most  precious 
souvenirs. 

Besides  discussing  business  with  the  Polish  gentleman, 
Balzac  apologized  often  for  not  answering  his  letters,  of- 
fering lack  of  time  as  his  excuse,  but  he  planned  to  visit 
Wierzchownia,  where  he  and  M.  de  Hanski  would  enjoy 
hearty  laughs  while  Madame  Hanska  could  work  at  his 
comedies.  In  spite  of  this  friendly  correspondence,  the 
Marechal  probably  hinted  to  his  wife  that  her  admiration 
for  the  author  was  too  warm,  for  Balzac  asked  her  to  re- 
assure her  husband  that  he  was  not  only  invulnerable, 
but  immune  from  attack.  Balzac  spoke  of  dedicating  one 
of  his  books  in  the  Comedie  humaine  to  M.  de  Hanski,  but 
no  dedication  to  him  is  found  in  this  work.  His  death, 
which  occurred  some  months  after  this  suggestion,  doubt- 
less prevented  the  realization  of  it. 

Balzac  evidently  received  a  negative  reply  to  his  letter  to 
Madame  Hanska  asking  to  be  permitted  to  visit  her  imme- 
diately after  her  husband's  death.  It  would  have  been  a 
breach  of  the  convenances  had  he  gone  to  visit  her  so  early 
in  her  widowhood.  Soon  after  learning  of  M.  de  Han- 
ski's  death,  he  saw  an  announcement  of  the  death  of  a 


228     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Countess  Kicka  of  Volhynia,  and  since  his  "  Polar  Star  " 
had  spoken  of  being  ill,  he  was  seized  with  fear  lest  this 
be  a  misprint  for  Hanska,  and  was  confined  to  his  bed  for 
two  days  with  a  nervous  fever. 

What  must  have  been  Balzac's  disappointment,  when  al- 
most ready  to  leave  at  any  moment,  to  receive  a  letter 
which,  as  he  expressed  it,  killed  the  youth  in  him  and  rent 
his  heart!  She  felt  that  she  owed  everything  to  her 
daughter,  who  had  consoled  her,  and  nothing  to  him ;  yet 
she  knew  that  she  was  everything  to  him. 

He  thought  that  she  loved  Anna  too  much,  protested  his 
fidelity  to  her  when  she  accused  him,  and  reverted  to  his 
favorite  theme  of  comparing  her  to  the  devoted  Madame 
de  Berny.  He  complained  of  her  coldness,  wanted  to 
visit  her  in  August  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  desired  her  to 
promise  that  they  would  be  married  within  two  years. 

"  When  Madame  Hanska's  husband  died,  it  was  sup- 
posed that  her  union  with  Balzac  would  occur  at  once, 
but  obstacles  were  interposed  by  others.  Her  own  fam- 
ily looked  down  upon  the  great  French  author  as  a  mere 
story-teller;  and  by  her  late  husband's  people  sordid  mo- 
tives were  imputed  to  him,  to  account  for  his  devotion  to 
the  heiress.  The  latter  objection  was  removed,  a  few 
years  later,  by  the  widow's  giving  up  to  her  daughter  the 
fortune  left  to  her  by  Monsieur  Hanski."  66 

It  is  at  this  period  that  Balzac  furnishes  us  with  the  key 
to  one  of  his  works,  Albert  Savarus,  in  writing  to  Madame 
Hanska : 

"Albert  Savarus  has  had  much  success.    You  will  read 

86  Princess  Radziwill,  Madame  de  Balzac,  the  Critic,  v.  45,  p.  241, 
1904. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       229 

it  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Comedie  humaine,  almost  after 
the  fausse  Mailresse,  where  with  childish  joy  I  have 
made  the  name  Rzewuski  shine  in  the  midst  of  those  of 
the  most  illustrious  families  of  the  North.  Why  have 
I  not  placed  Francesca  Colonna  at  Diodati?  Alas,  I 
was  afraid  that  it  would  be  too  transparent.  Diodati 
makes  my  heart  beat!  Those  four  syllables,  it  is  the 
cry  of  the  Montjoie  Saint-Denis!  of  my  heart."  67 

Francesca  Colonna,  the  Princess  Gandolphini,  is  the 
heroine  of  I'Ambitieux  par  Amour,  a  novel  supposed  to 
have  been  published  by  Albert  Savarus  and  described  in 
the  book  which  bears  his  name.  Using  her  name,  the 
hero  is  represented  as  having  written  the  story  of  the 
Duchesse  d'Arga'iolo  and  himself,  he  taking  the  name 
of  Rodolphe.  Here  are  given,  in  disguise  again,  the  de- 
tails of  Balzac's  early  relation  to  Madame  Hanska.  Al- 
bert Savarus,  while  traveling  in  Switzerland,  sees  a  lady's 
face  at  the  window  of  an  upper  room,  admires  it  and 
seeks  the  lady's  acquaintance.  She  proves  to  be  the 
Duchesse  d'Arga'iolo,  an  Italian  in  exile.  She  had  been 
married  very  young  to  the  Duke  d'Argaiolo,  who  was 
rich  and  much  older  than  she.  The  young  man  falls  in 
love  with  this  beautiful  lady,  and  she  promises  to  be  his 
as  soon  as  she  becomes  free. 

Gabriel  Ferry  states  that  Balzac  first  saw  Madame 
Hanska's  face  at  a  window,  and  the  Princess  Radziwill 
says  that  Balzac  went  to  the  hotel  to  meet  her  aunt.  It  is 
to  be  noted  that  the  year  1834  is  that  in  which  Balzac  and 
Madame  Hanska  were  in  Geneva  together. 

The  Villa  Diodati,  noted  for  having  been  inhabited  by 
67  Lettres  d  I'Ztrangere,  v.  2,  p.  54,  July  12  (1842). 


23o    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Lord  Byron,  is  situated  on  Lake  Geneva,  at  Cologny,  not 
far  from  Pre  Leveque,08  where  M.  de  Hanski  and  his 
family  resided  in  the  maison  Mirabaud-Amat.  There  are 
numerous  allusions  to  Diodati  in  Balzac's  correspondence, 
from  which  one  would  judge  that  he  had  some  very  un- 
happy associations  with  Madame  de  Castries,  and  some 
very  happy  ones  with  Madame  Hanska  in  connection  with 
Diodati : 

"  When  I  want  to  give  myself  a  magnificent  fete,  I 
close  my  eyes,  lie  down  on  one  of  my  sofas,  .  .  .  and 
recall  that  good  day  at  Diodati  which  effaced  a  thousand 
pangs  I  had  felt  there  a  year  before.  You  have  made 
me  know  the  difference  between  a  true  affection  and  a 
simulated  one,  and  for  a  heart  as  childlike  as  mine,  there 
is  cause  there  for  an  eternal  gratitude.  .  .  .  When  some 
thought  saddens  me,  then  I  have  recourse  to  you;  .  .  . 
I  see  again  Diodati,  I  stretch  myself  on  the  good  sofa 
of  the  Maison  Mirabaud,  .  .  .  Diodati,  that  image  of  a 
happy  life,  reappears  like  a  star  for  a  moment  clouded, 
and  I  begin  to  laugh,  as  you  know  I  can  laugh.  I  say 
to  myself  that  so  much  work  will  have  its  recompense, 
and  that  I  shall  have,  like  Lord  Byron,  my  Diodati.  I 
sing  in  my  bad  voice :  '  Diodati,  Diodati ! '  "  69 

Another  excerpt  shows  that  Balzac  had  in  mind  his  own 
life  in  connection  with  Madame  Hanska's  in  writing  Al- 
bert Savarus : 

68  Balzac  preserved  a  remembrance  of  the  happy  days  he  had  spent 
with  Madame  Hanska  at  Pre-Leveque,  Lake  Geneva,  by  dating  La 
Duchesse  de  Langeais,  January  26,  1834,  Pre-Leveque. 

68  Lettrcs  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  pp.  163,  204,  247,  June  3,  1834,  Oc- 
tober 26,  1834,  May  I,  1835. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       231 

".  .  .  It  is  six.  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  have  inter- 
rupted myself  to  think  of  you,  reminded  of  you  by 
Switzerland  where  I  have  placed  the  scene  of  Albert  Sa- 
varus.—  Lovers  in  Switzerland, —  for  me,  it  is  the  image 
of  happiness.  I  do  not  wish  to  place  the  Princess  Gan- 
dolphini  in  the  maison  Mirabaud,  for  there  are  people 
in  the  world  who  would  make  a  crime  of  it  for  us.  This 
Princess  is  a  foreigner,  an  Italian,  loved  by  Savarus."  70 

Many  of  Balzac's  traits  are  seen  in  Albert  Savarus. 
Like  Balzac,  Albert  Savarus  was  defeated  in  politics,  but 
hoped  for  election ;  was  a  lawyer,  expected  to  rise  to  fame, 
and  was  about  three  years  older  than  the  woman  he  loved. 
Like  Madame  Hanska,  the  Duchesse  d'Arga'iolo,  known 
as  the  Princess  Gandolphini,  was  beautiful,  noble,  a  for- 
eigner, and  married  to  a  man  very  rich  and  much  older 
than  she,  who  was  not  companionable.  It  was  on  De- 
cember 26  that  Albert  Savarus  arrived  at  the  Villa  on 
Lake  Geneva  to  visit  his  princess,  while  Balzac  arrived 
December  25  to  visit  Madame  Hanska  at  her  Villa  there. 
The  two  lovers  spent  the  winter  together,  and  in  the 
spring,  the  Due  d'Arga'iolo  (Prince  Gandolphini)  and  his 
wife  went  to  Naples,  and  Albert  Savarus  (Rodolphe)  re- 
turned to  Paris,  just  as  M.  de  Hanski  took  his  family  to 
Italy  in  the  spring,  while  Balzac  returned  to  Paris. 

Albert  Savarus  was  falsely  accused  of  being  married, 
just  as  Madame  Hanska  had  accused  Balzac.  The  let- 
ters to  the  Duchess  from  Savarus  are  quite  similar  to 
some  Balzac  wrote  to  Madame  Hanska.  Like  Balzac, 
Savarus  saw  few  people,  worked  at  night,  was  poor,  ever 
™Letire$  a  1'E.trangere,  v.  2,  p.  40,  May  14  (1842). 


232     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

hopeful,  communed  with  the  portrait  of  his  adored  one, 
had  trouble  in  regard  to  the  delivery  of  her  letters,  and  was 
worried  when  they  did  not  come ;  yet  he  was  patient  and 
willing  to  wait  until  the  Duke  should  die.  Like  Madame 
Hanska,  the  Duchess  feared  her  lover  was  unfaithful  to 
her,  and  in  both  cases  a  woman  sowed  discord,  though  the 
results  were  different.71 

Madame  Hanska  did  not  care  for  this  book,  but  Balzac 
told  her  she  was  not  familiar  enough  with  French  society 
to  appreciate  it. 

Miss  Mary  Hanford  Ford  thinks  that  Madame  Hanska 
inspired  another  of  Balzac's  works :  "  It  is  probable  that 
in  Madame  de  la  Chanterie  we  are  given  Balzac's  impas- 
sioned and  vivid  idealization  of  the  woman  who  became 
his  wife  at  last.  .  .  .  Balzac's  affection  for  Madame 
Hanska  was  to  a  large  degree  tinged  with  the  reverence 
which  the  Brotherhood  shared  for  Madame  de  la  Chan- 
terie. .  .  ." 72  While  the  Freres  de  la  Consolation 
adored  Madame  de  la  Chanterie  in  a  beautiful  manner, 
neither  her  life  nor  her  character  was  at  all  like  Madame 
Hanska's.  This  work  is  dated  December,  1847,  Wierz- 
chownia,  and  was  doubtless  finished  there,  but  he  had  been 
working  on  it  for  several  years. 

In  the  autumn  of  i842,73  Madame  Hanska  went  to  St. 

71  Miss  K.  P.  Wormeley  does  not  think  that  Albert  Savarus  was 
inspired  by  Balzac's  relations  with  Madame  Hanska.     For  her  argu- 
ments, see  Memoir  of  Balzac,  p.  169. 

72  Balzac's  Seraphita,  p.  73.     See  L'Envers  de  I'Histoire  contem- 
poraine  for  this  character. 

73  fimile  Faguet,  Balzac,  says  that  it  was  in  1843  that  Madame 
Hanska  went  to  St.  Petersburg.    He  has  made  several  such  slight 
mistakes  throughout  this  work. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        233 

Petersburg.  She  complained  of  a1  sadness  and  melan- 
choly which  Balzac's  most  ardent  devotion  could  not  over- 
come. He  became  her  patito,  and  she  the  queen  of  his 
life,  but  he  too  suffered  from  depression,  and  even  con- 
sented to  wait  three  years  for  her  if  she  would  only  per- 
mit him  to  visit  her.  He  insisted  that  his  affection  was 
steadfast  and  eternal,  but  in  addition  to  showing  him  cold- 
ness, she  unjustly  rebuked  him,  having  heard  that  he  was 
gambling.  She  had  a  prolonged  lawsuit,  and  he  wished 
her  to  turn  the  matter  over  to  him,  feeling  sure  that  he 
could  win  the  case  for  her. 

Thus  passed  the  year  1842.  She  eventually  consented 
to  let  him  come  in  May  to  celebrate  his  birthday.  But 
alas !  A  great  remora  stood  in  the  way.  Poor  Balzac 
did  not  have  the  money  to  make  the  trip.  Then  also  he 
had  literary  obligations  to  meet,  but  he  felt  very  much  fa- 
tigued from  excessive  work  and  wanted  to  leave  Paris  for 
a  rest.  Her  letters  were  so  unsatisfactory  that  he  im- 
plored her  to  engrave  in  her  dear  mind,  if  she  would  not 
write  it  in  her  heart,  that  he  wished  her  to  use  some  of  her 
leisure  time  in  writing  a  few  lines  to  him  daily.  As  was 
his  custom  when  in  distress,  he  sought  a  fortune-teller 
for  comfort,  and  as  usual,  was  delighted  with  his  proph- 
ecy. The  notorious  Balthazar  described  to  him  perfectly 
the  woman  he  loved,  told  him  that  his  love  was  returned, 
that  there  would  never  be  a  cloud  in  their  sky,  in  spite  of 
the  intensity  of  their  characters,  and  that  he  would  be  go- 
ing to  see  her  within  six  months.  The  soothsayer  was 
correct  in  this  last  statement,  at  least,  for  Balzac  arrived 
at  St.  Petersburg  soon  after  this  interview. 

Madame  Hanska  felt  that  she  was  growing  old,  but  Bal- 


234     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

zac  assured  her  that  he  should  love  her  even  were  she  ugly, 
and  he  relieved  her  mind  of  this  fear  by  writing  in  her 
Journal  intime  that  although  he  had  not  seen  her  since 
they  were  in  Vienna,  he  thought  her  as  beautiful  and 
young  as  then  —  after  an  interval  of  seven  years.74 

Balzac  arrived  in  St.  Petersburg  on  July  17/29,  and  left 
there  late  in  September,75  1843,  stopping  to  visit  in  Berlin 
and  Dresden.  Becoming  very  ill,  he  cut  short  his  visit  to 
Mayence  and  Cologne  and  arrived  in  Paris  November  3, 
in  order  to  consult  his  faithful  Dr.  Nacquart.  Excess  of 
work,  the  sorrow  of  leaving  Madame  Hanska,  disappoint- 
ment, and  deferred  hopes  were  too  much  for  his  nervous 
system.  His  letters  to  Madame  Hanska  were,  if  possible, 
filled  with  greater  detail  than  ever  concerning  his  debts, 
his  household  and  family  matters,  his  works,  and  society 
gossip.  The  tu  frequently  replaces  the  vous,  and  having 
apparently  exhausted  all  the  endearing  names  in  the 
French  language,  he  resorted  to  the  Hebrew,  and  finds 
that  Lididda  means  so  many  beautiful  things  that  he  em- 
ploys this  word.  He  calls  her  Liline  or  Line;  she  becomes 
his  Louloup,  his  "  lighthouse,"  his  "  happy  star,"  and  the 
sicura  rich-esza,  senza,  brama. 

74  Balzac  should  have  said  an  interval  of  eight  years  instead  of 
seven,  for  he  visited  her  in  Vienna  in  May  and  June,  1835,  and  he 
wrote  this  in  September   1843.     This  is  only  one  of  the  novelist's 
numerous  mistakes  in  figuring,  seen  throughout  his  entire  works. 

75  Unless  the  editor  of  Lettres  a  l'£trangere  is  confusing  the  French 
and  Russian  dates,  he  has  made  a  mistake  in  dating  certain  of  Bal- 
zac's letters  from  St.  Petersburg.     He  has  two  dated  October  1843, 
St.    Petersburg,   and  on  his   way  home   from  there   Balzac  writes 
from  Taurogen  dating  his   letter   September  27-October    10,    1843. 
Hence  the  exact  date  of  his  departure  from  St.  Petersburg  is  ob- 
scure. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       235 

Madame  Hanska  and  Balzac  seem  to  have  had  many 
idiosyncrasies  in  common,  among  which  was  their  pen- 
chant for  jewelry,  as  well  as  perfumes.  Since  their  meet- 
ing at  Geneva,  the  two  exchanged  gifts  of  jewelry  fre- 
quently, and  the  discussion,  engraving,  measuring,  and 
exchanging  of  various  rings  occupied  much  of  Balzac's 
precious  time. 

His  fondness  for  antiques  was  another  extravagance, 
and  he  invested  not  a  little  in  certain  pieces  of  furniture 
which  had  belonged  to  Marie  de  Medicis  and  Henri  IV; 
this  purchase  he  regretted  later,  and  talked  of  selling,  but, 
instead,  added  continually  to  his  collection.  He  was  con- 
stantly sending,  or  wanting  to  send  some  present  to 
Madame  Hanska  or  to  her  daughter  Anna,  but  nothing 
could  be  compared  with  the  priceless  gift  he  received  from 
her.  The  Daffinger  miniature  arrived  February  2,  1844. 

As  a  New  Year's  greeting  for  1844,  Balzac  dedicated 
to  Madame  Hanska  Les  Bourgeois  de  Paris,  later  called 
Les  petits  Bourgeois,  saying  that  the  first  work  written 
after  his  brief  visit  with  her  should  be  inscribed  to  her. 
This  dedication  is  somewhat  different  from  the  one  pub- 
lished in  his  GELuvres: 

"  To  Constance- Victoire : 76 

"  Here,  madame  and  friend,  is   one  of  those  works 

76  Constance  was  either  one  of  Madame  Hanska's  real  names, 
or  one  given  her  by  Balzac,  for  he  writes  to  her,  in  speaking  of 
Mademoiselle  Borel's  entering  the  convent :  "  My  most  sincere 
regards  to  Soeur  Constance,  for  I  imagine  that  Saint  Borel  will 
take  one  of  your  names."  Lettres  a  VEtrangcre,  v.  2,  p.  256,  Decem- 
ber 30,  1843.  Although  Balzac  hoped  at  one  time  to  have  Les  petits 
Bourgeois  completed  by  July  1844,  it  was  left  unfinished  at  his  death, 
and  was  completed  and  published  in  1855. 


236    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

which  fall,  we  know  not  whence,  into  an  author's  mind 
and  afford  him  pleasure  before  he  can  estimate  how  they 
will  be  received  by  the  public,  that  great  judge  of  our 
time.  But,  almost  sure  of  your  good-will,  I  dedicate  it 
to  you.  It  belongs  to  you,  as  formerly  the  tithe  be- 
longed to  the  church,  in  memory  of  God  from  whom  all 
things  come,  who  makes  all  ripen,  all  mature!  Some 
lumps  of  clay  left  by  Moliere  at  the  base  of  his  statue 
of  Tartufe  have  been  molded  by  a  hand  more  audacious 
than  skilful.  But,  at  whatever  distance  I  may  be  below 
the  greatest  of  humorists,  I  shall  be  satisfied  to  have 
utilized  these  little  pieces  of  the  stage-box  of  his  work 
to  show  the  modern  hypocrite  at  work.  That  which  most 
encouraged  me  in  this  difficult  undertaking  is  to  see  it 
separated  from  every  religious  question,  which  was  so 
injurious  to  the  comedy  of  Tartufe,  and  which  ought  to 
be  removed  to^lay.  May  the  double  significance  of  your 
names  be  a  prophecy  for  the  author,  and  may  you  be 
pleased  to  find  here  the  expression  of  his  respectful 
gratitude. 

"  DE  BALZAC. 
"January  I,  1844." 

During  the  winter  of  1844,  Madame  Hanska  wrote  a 
story  and  then  threw  it  into  the  fire.  In  doing  this  she 
carried  out  a  suggestion  given  her  by  Balzac  several  years 
before,  when  he  wrote  her  that  he  liked  to  have  a  woman 
write  and  study,  but  she  should  have  the  courage  to  burn 
her  productions.  She  told  the  novelist  what  she  had 
done,  and  he  requested  her  to  rewrite  her  study  and  send  it 
to  him,  and  he  would  correct  it  and  publish  it  under  his 
name.  In  this  way  she  could  enjoy  all  the  pleasures  of 
authorship  in  reading  what  he  would  preserve  of  her  beau- 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       237 

tiful  and  charming  prose.  In  the  first  place,  she  must 
paint  a  provincial  family,  and  place  the  romantic,  enthu- 
siastic young  girl  in  the  midst  of  the  vulgarities  of  such  an 
existence;  and  then,  by  correspondence,  make  a  transit 
to  the  description  of  a  poet  in  Paris.  A  friend  of  the 
poet,  who  is  to  continue  the  correspondence,  must  be  a 
man  of  decided  talent,  and  the  denouement  must  be  in 
his  favor  against  the  great  poet.  Also  the  manias  and  the 
asperities  of  a  great  soul  which  alarm  and  rebuff  inferior 
souls  should  be  shown ;  in  doing  this  she  would  aid  him  in 
earning  a  few  thousand  francs. 

Her  story,  in  the  hands  of  this  great  wizard,  grew  like 
a  mushroom,  without  pain  or  effort,  and  soon  developed 
into  the  romantic  novel,  Modeste  Mignon.  She  had 
thrown  her  story  into  the  fire,  but  the  fire  had  returned  it 
to  him  and  given  him  power,  as  did  the  coal  of  fire  on  the 
lips  of  the  great  prophet,  and  he  wished  to  give  all  the 
glory  to  his  adored  collaborator. 

When  reading  this  book,  Madame  Hanska  objected  to 
Balzac's  having  made  the  father  of  the  heroine  scold  her 
for  beginning  a  secret  correspondence  with  an  author, 
feeling  that  Balzac  was  disapproving  of  her  conduct  in 
writing  to  him  first,  but  Balzac  assured  her  that  such  was 
not  his  intention,  and  that  he  considered  this  demarche  of 
hers  as  royale  and  reglnale.  Another  trait,  which  she 
probably  did  not  recognize,  was  that  just  as  the  great  poet 
Canalis  was  at  first  indifferent  to  the  letters  of  the  hero- 
ine, and  allowed  Ernest  de  la  Briere  to  answer  them,  so 
was  Balzac  rather  indifferent  to  hers,  and  Madame  Car- 
raud  —  as  already  stated  —  is  supposed  to  have  replied 
to  one  of  them. 


23 8     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Balzac  had  his  Lonloup  in  mind 
while  writing  this  story,  for  in  response  to  the  criticism 
that  Modeste  was  too  clever,  he  wrote  Madame  Hanska 
that  she  and  her  cousin  Caliste  who  had  served  him  as 
models  for  his  heroine  were  superior  to  her.  He  first 
dedicated  this  work  to  her  under  the  name  of  une  Etrang- 
ere,  but  seeing  the  mistake  the  public  made  in  ascribing 
this  dedication  to  the  Princesse  Belgiojoso,  he  at  a  later 
date  specified  the  nationality,  and  inscribed  the  book : 

"  To  a  Polish  Lady : 

"  Daughter  of  an  enslaved  land,  an  angel  in  love,  a 
demon  in  imagination,  a  child  in  faith,  an  old  man  in 
experience,  a  man  in  brain,  a  woman  in  heart,  a  giant 
in  hope,  a  mother  in  suffering  and  a  poet  in  your  dreams, 
—  this  work,  in  which  your  love  and  your  fancy,  your 
faith,  your  experience,  your  suffering,  your  hopes  and 
your  dreams  are  like  chains  by  which  hangs  a  web  less 
lovely  than  the  poetry  cherished  in  your  soul  —  the 
poetry  whose  expression  when  it  lights  up  your  counte- 
nance is,  to  those  who  admire  you,  what  the  characters 
of  a  lost  language  are  to  the  learned  —  this  work  is 
yours. 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

In  La  fausse  Maitresse,  Balzac  represented  Madame 
Hanska  in  the  role  of  the  Countess  Clementine  Laginska, 
who  was  silentfy  loved  by  Thaddee  Paz,  a  Polish  refugee. 
This  Thaddee  Paz  was  no  other  than  Thaddee  Wylezyn- 
ski,  a  cousin  who  adored  her,  and  who  died  in  1844. 
Balzac  learned  of  the  warm  attachment  existing  between 
Madame  Hanska  and  her  cousin  soon  after  meeting  her, 
and  compared  his  faithful  friend  Borget  to  her  Thaddee. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        239 

On  hearing  of  the  death  of  Thaddee,  he  writes  her :  "  The 
death  of  Thaddee,  which  you  announce  to  me,  grieves  me. 
You  have  told  me  so  much  of  him,  that  I  loved  one  who 
loved  you  so  well,  although!  You  have  doubtless  guessed 
why  I  called  Paz,  Thaddee.  Poor  dear  one,  I  shall  love 
you  for  all  those  whose  love  you  lose !  "  77 

Balzac  longed  to  be  free  from  his  debts,  and  have  un- 
disturbed possession  of  Les  Jardies,  where  they  could  live 
en  pigeons  heureux.  Ever  inclined  to  give  advice,  he 
suggested  to  her  that  she  should  have  her  interests  en- 
tirely separate  from  Anna's,  quoting  the  axiom,  N'ayez 
aucune  collision  d'interet  avec  vos  enjants,  and  that  she 
was  wrong  in  refusing  a  bequest  from  her  deceased  hus- 
band. She  should  give  up  all  luxuries,  dismiss  all  neces- 
sary employees  and  not  spend  so  much  of  her  income  but 
invest  it.  He  felt  that  she  and  her  daughter  were  lacking 
in  business  ability ;  this  proved  to  be  too  true,  but  Balzac 
was  indeed  a  very  poor  person  to  advise  her  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  however,  her  lack  of  accuracy  in  failing  to  date  her 
letters  was,  to  be  sure,  a  great  annoyance  to  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  she  suspected  her  Norc,  had  again 
heard  that  he  was  married,  and  that  he  was  given  to  in- 
dulging in  intoxicating  liquors ;  she  advised  him  not  to  as- 
sociate so  much  with  women. 

Having  eventually  won  her  lawsuit,  she  returned  to 
Wierzchownia  in  the  spring  of  1844,  after  a  residence  of 
almost  two  years  in  St.  Petersburg.  Her  daughter  Anna 
had  made  her  debut  in  St.  Petersburg  society,  and  had 
met  the  young  Comte  George  de  Mniszech,  who  was 
destined  to  become  her  husband.  Balzac  was  not  pleased 

77  Lettres  a  1'B.trangcre,  v.  2,  p.  442,  October  n  (1844). 


240    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

with  this  choice,  and  felt  that  the  protege  of  the  aged 
Comte  Potoc,ki  would  make  a  better  husband,  for  moral 
qualities  were  to  be  considered  rather  than  fortune. 

After  spending  the  summer  and  autumn  at  her  home, 
Madame  Hanska  went  to  Dresden  for  the  winter.  As 
early  as  August,  Balzac  sought  permission  to  visit  her 
there,  making  his  request  in  time  to  arrange  his  work  in 
advance  and  secure  the  money  for  the  journey,  in  case  she 
consented.  While  in  St.  Petersburg,  she  had  given  him 
money  to  buy  some  gift  for  Anna,  so  he  planned  to  take 
both  of  them  many  beautiful  things,  and  une  cave  de 
par f urns  as  a  gift  de  nez  a  nez.  If  she  would  not  con- 
sent to  his  coming  to  Dresden,  he  would  come  to  Berlin, 
Leipsic,  Frankfort,  Aix-la-Chapelle,  or  anywhere  else. 
He  became  impatient  to  know  his  fate,  and  her  letters 
were  so  irregular  that  he  exclaimed :  "  In  heaven's  name, 
write  me  regularly  three  times  a  month !  "  78 

Poor  Balzac's  dream  was  to  be  on  the  way  to  Dresden, 
but  this  was  not  to  be  realized.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Madame  Hanska's  family  did  not  approve  of  Balzac 
nor  did  they  appreciate  his  literary  worth,  they  felt  that 
the  marriage  would  be  a  decided  mesalliance,  and  exerted 
their  influence  against  him.  Discouraged  by  them  and 
her  friends,  she  forbade  his  coming.  While  her  family 
called  him  a  scribe  exotique,  Balzac  indirectly  told  her  of 
the  appreciation  of  other  women,  saying  that  Madame  de 
Girardin  considered  him  to  be  one  of  the  most  charming 
conversationalists  of  the  day! 

This  uncertainty  as  to  his  going  to  visit  his  "  Polar 
Star  "  affected  him  to  such  a  degree  that  he  could  not  con- 
1&Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  2,  p.  448  (October  21,  1844). 


By  permitsion  of  Mr.J.  P.  Morgan 

Mme.  Hanska 

From  a  miniature  made  in  1820,  the  year  of  her  first  marriage, 
in  the  Morgan  collection 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       241 

centrate  his  mind  on  his  work,  and  he  became  impatient  to 
the  point  of  scolding  her : 

"  But,  dear  Countess,  you  have  made  me  lose  all  the 
month  of  January  and  the  first  fifteen  days  of  February 
by  saying  to  me :  'I  start  —  to-morrow  —  next  week,' 
and  by  making  me  wait  for  letters ;  in  short,  by  throwing 
me  into  rages  which  I  alone  know !  This  has  brought 
a  frightful  disorder  into  my  affairs,  for  instead  of  get- 
ting my  liberty  February  15,  I  have  before  me  a  month 
of  herculean  labor,  and  on  my  brain  I  must  inscribe  this 
which  will  be  contradicted  by  my  heart :  '  Think  no 
longer  of  your  star,  nor  of  Dresden,  nor  of  travel;  stay 
at  your  chain  and  work  miserably!  .  .  .  Dear  Countess, 
I  decidedly  advise  you  to  leave  Dresden  at  once.  There 
are  princesses  in  that  town  who  infect  and  poison  your 
heart,  and  were  it  not  for  Les  Pay  sans,  I  should  have 
started  at  once  to  prove  to  that  venerable  invalid  of 
Cythera  how  men  of  my  stamp  love;  men  who  have  not 
received,  like  her  prince,  a  Russian  pumpkin  in  place  of 
a  French  heart  from  the  hands  of  hyperborean  nature. 
.  .  .  Tell  your  dear  Princess  that  I  have  known  you 
since  1833,  and  that  in  1845  I  am  ready  to  go  from 
Paris  to  Dresden  to  see  you  for  a  day;  and  it  is  not  im- 
possible for  me  to  make  this  trip ;  .  .  ." 79 

In  the  meantime  she  had  not  only  forbidden  his  com- 
ing to  visit  her,  but  had  even  asked  him  not  to  write  to 
her  again  at  Dresden,  to  which  he  replies : 

"  May  I  write  without  imprudence,  before  receiving  a 
counter-order?  Your  last  letter  counseled  me  not  to 
write  again  to  Dresden.  However,  I  take  up  my  pen 

79  Corresfrondance  1819-1850,  v.  2,  p.  123,  February  15,  1845. 


24*    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

on  the  invitation  contained  in  your  letter  of  the  8th. 
Since  you,  as  well  as  your  child,  are  absolutely  deter- 
mined to  see  your  Lirette  again,  there  is  but  one  way 
for  it,  viz.,  to  come  to  Paris." 

He  planned  how  she  could  secure  a  passport  for  Frank- 
fort and  the  Rhine  and  meet  him  at  Mayence,  where  he 
would  have  a  passport  for  his  sister  and  his  niece  so  that 
they  could  come  to  Paris  to  remain  from  March  15  until 
May  15.  Once  in  Paris,  in  a  small  suite  of  rooms  fur- 
nished by  him,  they  could  visit  Lirette  at  the  convent,  take 
drives,  frequent  the  theaters,  shop  at  a  great  advantage, 
and  keep  everything  in  the  greatest  secrecy.  He  con- 
tinues : 

"  Dear  Countess,  the  uncertainty  of  your  arrival  at 
Frankfort  has  weighed  heavily  on  me,  for  how  can  I 
begin  to  work,  whilst  awaiting  a  letter,  which  may  cause 
me  to  set  out  •immediately  ?  I  have  not  written  a  line 
of  the  Paysans.  From  a  material  point  of  view,  all  this 
has  been  fatal  to  me.  Not  even  your  penetrating  intelli- 
gence can  comprehend  this,  as  you  know  nothing  of 
Parisian  economy  nor  the  difficulties  in  the  life  of  a  man 
who  is  trying  to  live  on  six  thousand  francs  a  year."  80 

Thus  was  his  time  wasted ;  and  when  he  dared  express 
gently  and  lovingly  the  feelings  which  were  overpowering 
him,  his  beautiful  Chatelaine  was  offended,  and  rebuked 
him  for  his  impatience.  Desperate  and  almost  frantic,  he 
writes  her : 

"  Dresden  and  you  dizzy  me ;  I  do  not  know  what  is 

80  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  224-226,  February  15, 
1845- 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       243 

to  be  done.  There  is  nothing  more  fatal  than  the  inde- 
cision in  which  you  have  kept  me  for  three  months.  If 
I  had  departed  the  first  of  January  to  return  February 
28,  I  should  be  more  advanced  (in  work)  and  I  would 
have  had  two  good  months  at  St.  Petersburg.  Dear 
sovereign  star,  how  do  you  expect  me  to  be  able  to  con- 
ceive two  ideas,  to  write  two  sentences,  with  my  heart 
and  head  agitated  as  they  have  been  since  last  November ; 
it  is  enough  to  drive  a  man  mad!  I  have  drenched  my- 
self with  coffee  to  no  avail,  I  have  only  increased  the 
nervous  trouble  of  my  eyes;  ...  I  am  between  two  de- 
spairs, that  of  not  seeing  you,  of  not  having  seen  you, 
and  the  financial  and  literary  chagrin,  the  chagrin  of 
self-respect.  Oh!  Charles  II  was  quite  right  in  saying: 
'  But  She  ?  .  .  .'  in  all  matters  which  his  ministers  sub- 
mitted to  him."81 

On  receipt  of  a  letter  from  her  April  18,  1845,  saying, 
"  I  desire  much  to  see  you,"  82  he  rushed  off  at  once  to 
Dresden,  forgetful  of  all  else.  In  July,  Madame  Hanska 
and  her  daughter  accompanied  him  home,  traveling  in- 
cognito as  Balzac's  sister  and  his  niece,  just  as  he  had 
planned.  Anna  is  said  to  have  taken  the  name  of  Eu- 
genie, perhaps  in  remembrance  of  Balzac's  heroine,  Eu- 
genie Grandet.83  After  stopping  at  various  places  on  the 
way,  they  spent  a  few  weeks  at  Paris.  Balzac  had  pre- 
pared a  little  house  in  Passy  near  him  for  his  friends,  and 

81  Correspondence  1819-1850,  v.  2,  pp.  142,  143,  April  10,  1845. 

82  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v-.  2,  p.  235,  April  18,  1845. 

83  For  details,  see  de  Lovenjoul,  La  Genese  d'un  roman  de  Balzac, 
pp.  190,  191.     M.  F.  de  Roberto,  Le  Amiche  di  Balzac,  Nuova  An- 
tologia,  v.  82,  p.  108,  1899,  evidently  did  not  think  of  this  first  visit 
to  Paris  when  he  said  that  Madame  Hanska  came  only  once  to 
Paris,  in  1847. 


244     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC . 

he  took  much  pleasure  in  showing  them  his  treasures  and 
Paris.  Their  identity  was  not  discovered,  and  in  August 
he  accompanied  them  as  far  as  Brussels  on  their  return  to 
Dresden.  There  they  met  Count  George  Mniszech,  the 
fiance  of  Anna,  who  had  been  with  them  most  of  the  time. 
Balzac  could  scarcely  control  his  grief  at  parting,  but  he 
was  not  separated  from  his  Predilecta  long.  The  follow- 
ing month  he  spent  several  days  with  her  at  Baden-Baden, 
saying  of  this  visit : 

"  Baden  has  been  for  me  a  bouquet  of  sweet  flowers 
without  a  thorn.  We  lived  there  so  peacefully,  so  de- 
lightfully, and  so  completely  heart  to  heart.  I  have 
never  been  so  happy  before  in  my  life.  I  seemed  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  that  future  which  I  desire  and  dream 
of  in  the  midst  of  my  overwhelming  labors.  .  .  ." 84 

The  happiness  of  Madame  Hanska  did  not  seem  to  be 
so  great,  for,  ever  uncertain,  she  consulted  a  fortune-teller 
about  him.  To  this  he  replies :  "  Tell  your  fortune-teller 
that  her  cards  have  lied,  and  that  I  am  not  preoccupied 
with  any  blonde,  except  Dame  Fortune." 85  As  to 
whether  she  was  justified  in  being  suspicious,  one  can 
judge  from  the  preceding  pages.  Balzac  always  denied  or 
explained  to  her  these  accusations;  however  true  were 
some  of  his  vindications  of  himself,  he  certainly  exag- 
gerated in  assuring  her  that  he  always  told  her  the  exact 
truth  and  never  hid  from  her  the  smallest  trifle  whether 
good  or  bad. 

In  October,  1845, tne  novelist  left  Paris  again,  met  his 
"  Polar  Star,"  her  daughter  and  M.  de  Mniszech  at 

84  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  240,  October  15,  1845. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        245 

Chalons,  and  accompanied  them  on  their  Italian  tour  by 
way  of  Marseilles  as  far  as  Naples.  On  his  return  to 
Marseilles  on  November  12,  he  invested  in  wonderful 
bargains  in  bric-a-brac,  a  favorite  pursuit  which  eventu- 
ally cost  him  a  great  deal  in  worry  and  time  as  well  as 
much  money.  Madame  Hanska  had  supplied  his  purse 
from  time  to  time. 

Although  he  was  being  pressed  by  debts  and  for  un- 
finished work,  having  wasted  almost  the  entire  year  and 
having  had  much  extra  expense  in  traveling,  Balzac  could 
not  rise  to  the  situation,  and  implored  his  Chatelaine  to 
resign  herself  to  keeping  him  near  her,  for  he  had 
done  nothing  since  he  left  Dresden.  In  this  frame  of 
mind,  he  writes : 

"  Nothing  amuses  me,  nothing  distracts  me,  nothing 
enlivens  me;  it  is  the  death  of  the  soul,  the  death  of  the 
will,  the  collapse  of  the  entire  being ;  I  feel  that  I  cannot 
take  up  my  work  until  I  see  my  life  decided,  fixed,  set- 
tled. ...  I  am  quite  exhausted ;  I  have  waited  too  long, 
I  have  hoped  too  much,  I  have  been  too  happy  this  year, 
and  I  no  longer  wish  anything  else.  After  so  many  years 
of  toil  and  misfortune,  to  have  been  free  as  a  bird  of 
the  air,  a  thoughtless  traveler,  super-humanly  happy,  and 
then  to  come  back  to  a  dungeon!  ...  is  that  possible? 
...  I  dream,  I  dream  by  day,  by  night;  and  my  heart's 
thought,  folding  upon  itself,  prevents  all  action  of  the 
thought  of  the  brain  —  it  is  fearful !  "  85 

Balzac  was  ever  seeking  objects  worthy  to  be  placed 
in  his  art  collection,  going  quietly  through  Paris  on  foot, 
and  having  his  friend  Mery  continue  to  secure  bargains 
85  Correspondence,  1819-1850,  v.  2,  p.  200,  December  17,  1845. 


246    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

at  Marseilles.  A  most  important  event  at  this  period  is 
the  noticeable  decline  in  the  novelist's  health.  Though 
these  attacks  of  neuralgia  and  numerous  colds  were  re- 
garded as  rather  casual,  had  he  not  been  so  imbued  with 
optimism  —  an  inheritance  from  his  father  —  he  might 
have  foreseen  the  days  of  terrible  suffering  and  disap- 
pointment that  were  to  come  to  him  in  Russia.  Nature 
was  beginning  to  revolt ;  the  excessive  use  of  coffee,  the 
strain  of  long  hours  of  work  with  little  sleep,  the  abnormal 
life  in  general  which  he  had  led  for  so  many  years,  and 
this  suspense  about  the  ultimate  decision  of  the  woman 
he  so  adored,  were  weakening  him  physically. 

In  January,  1846,  Madame  Hanska  was  in  Dresden 
again,  and  as  was  always  the  case  when  in  that  city,  she 
wrote  accusing  him.  This  time  the  charge  was  that  of 
indulging  in  ignoble  gossip,  and  the  reproach  was  so  un- 
just that,  without  finishing  the  reading  of  the  letter,  he 
exposed  himself  for  hours  in  the  streets  of  Paris  to 
snow,  to  cold  and  to  fatigue,  utterly  crushed  by  this  accu- 
sation of  which  he  was  so  innocent.  In  his  delicate  phys- 
ical condition,  such  shocks  were  conducive  to  cardiac 
trouble,  especially  since  his  heart  had  long  been  affected. 
After  perusing  the  letter  to  the  end,  he  reflected  that  these 
grievous  words  came  not  from  her,  but  from  strangers,  so 
he  poured  forth  his  burning  adoration,  his  longing  for  a 
home,  where  he  could  drink  long  draughts  of  a  life  in 
common,  the  life  of  two. 

In  the  following  March  the  passionate  lover  was  drawn 
by  his  Predilecta  to  the  Eternal  City,  and  a  few  months 
later  they  were  in  Strasbourg,  where  a  definite  engage- 
ment took  place.  In  October  he  joined  her  again,  this 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       247 

time  at  Wiesbaden,  to  attend  the  marriage  of  Anna  to  the 
Comte  George  de  Mniszech.  This  brief  visit  had  a  de- 
lightful effect :  "  From  Frankfort  to  Forbach,  I  existed 
only  in  remembrance  of  you,  going  over  my  four  days  like 
a  cat  who  has  finished  her  milk  and  then  sits  licking  her 
lips."  86 

Madame  Hanska  had  constantly  refused  to  be  separated 
from  her  daughter,  but  now  Balzac  hoped  that  he  could 
hasten  matters,  so  he  applied  to  his  boyhood  friend,  M. 
Germeau,  prefect  of  Metz,  to  see  if  he,  in  his  official  ca- 
pacity, could  not  waive  the  formality  of  the  law  and  accel- 
erate his  marriage ;  87  but  since  all  Frenchmen  are  equal 
before  the  etat-civil,  this  could  not  be  accomplished. 

It  was  during  their  extensive  travels  in  1846  that  Bal- 
zac began  calling  the  party  "  Bilboquet's  troup  of  mounte- 
banks " :  Madame  Hanska  became  Atala ;  Anna,  Zephir- 
ine ;  George,  Gringalet ;  and  Balzac,  Bilboquet.  Although 
Madame  Hanska  cautioned  him  about  his  extravagance  in 
gathering  works  of  art,  he  persisted  in  buying  them  while 
traveling,  so  it  became  necessary  to  find  a  home  in  which 
to  place  his  collection.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  while 
making  this  collection,  he  was  writing  Le  Cousin  Pons, 
in  which  the  hero  has  a  passion  for  accumulating  rare 
paintings  and  curios  with  which  he  fills  his  museum  and 
impoverishes  himself.  Balzac  had  purposed  calling  this 
book  Le  Parasite,  but  Madame  Hanska  objected  to  this 
name,  which  smacked  so  strongly  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  he  changed  it.  As  he  was  also  writing  La  Cou- 

88  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  310,  October  18,  1846. 
87  For  other  details,  see  Revue  des  deux  Mondes,  March  15,  1920, 
PP.  330-332. 


248     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

sine  Bette  at  this  time,  we  can  see  not  only  that  his  power 
of  application  had  returned  to  him,  but  that  he  was  pro- 
ducing some  of  his  strongest  work. 

For  some  time  Balzac  had  been  looking  for  a  home 
worthy  of  his  fiancee  and  had  finally  decided  on  the  Villa 
Beaujon,  in  the  rue  Fortunee.  Since  this  home  was  cre- 
ated "  for  her  and  by  her,"  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  be 
consulted  in  the  reconstruction  and  decoration  of  it,  so  he 
brought  her  secretly  to  Paris,  and  her  daughter  and  son- 
in-law  returned  to  Wierzchownia.  This  was  not  only  a 
long  separation  for  so  devoted  a  mother  and  daughter,  but 
there  was  some  danger  lest  her  incognito  be  discovered; 
Balzac,  accordingly,  took  every  precaution.  It  is  easy  to 
picture  the  extreme  happiness  of  the  novelist  in  conducting 
his  Louloup  over  Paris,  in  having  her  near  him  while  he 
was  writing  some  of  his  greatest  masterpieces,  and,  natu- 
rally, hoping  that  the  everlasting  debts  would  soon  be  de- 
frayed and  the  marriage  ceremony  performed,  but  fortu- 
nately, he  was  not  permitted  to  know  beforehand  of  the 
long  wait  and  the  many  obstacles  that  stood  in  his  way. 

Just  what  happened  during  the  spring  and  summer  of 
1847  is  uncertain,  as  few  letters  of  this  period  exist  in 
print.  Miss  Sandars  (Balzac,  p.  238),  states  that  about 
the  middle  of  April  Balzac  conducted  Madame  Hanska  to 
Forbach  on  her  return  to  Wierzchownia,  and  when  he  re- 
turned to  Paris  he  found  that  some  of  her  letters  to  him 
had  been  stolen,  30,000  francs  being  demanded  for  them 
at  once,  otherwise  the  letters  to  be  turned  over  to  the  Czar. 
Miss  Sandars  states  also  that  this  trouble  hastened  the 
progress  of  his  heart  disease,  and  that  when  the  letters 
were  eventually  secured  (without  the  payment)  Balzac 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       249 

burned  them,  lest  such  a  catastrophe  should  occur  again. 
The  Princess  Radziwill  says  that  the  story  of  the  letters 
was  invented  by  Balzac  and  is  ridiculous;  also,  that  it 
angered  her  aunt  because  Balzac  revealed  his  ignorance 
of  Russian  matters,  by  saying  such  things.  Lawton  (Bal- 
zac, p.  267)  intimates  that  Balzac  and  Madame  Hanska 
quarreled,  she  being  jealous  and  suspicious  of  his  fidelity, 
and  that  he  burned  her  letters.  De  Lovenjoul  (Un  Ro- 
man d' Amour,  p.  94)  makes  the  same  statement  and  adds 
that  this  trouble  increased  his  heart  disease.  But  he  says 
also  (La  Genese  d'lin  Roman  de  Balzac,  p.  194)  that 
Madame  Hanska  spent  two  months  secretly  in  Paris  in 
April  and  May ;  yet,  a  letter  written  by  Balzac,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1847,  shows  that  she  was  in  Paris  at  that  time. 

Balzac  went  to  Wierzchownia  in  September,  1847,  and 
traveled  so  expeditiously  that  he  arrived  there  several  days 
before  his  letter  which  told  of  his  departure.  When  one 
remembers  how  he  had  planned  with  M.  de  Hanski  more 
than  ten  years  before  to  be  his  guest  in  this  chateau,  one 
can  imagine  his  great  delight  now  in  journeying  thither 
with  the  hope  of  accomplishing  the  great  desire  of  his  life. 
He  was  royally  entertained  at  the  chateau  and  was  given  a 
beautiful  little  suite  of  rooms  composed  of  a  salon,  a  sit- 
ting-room and  a  bed-room.88 

Regarding  the  vital  question  of  his  marriage,  he  writes 
his  sister: 

"  My  greatest  wish  and  hope  is  still  far  from  its  ac- 
complishment.    Madame  Hanska  is  indispensable  to  her 

88  This  house,  where  all  the  mementos  of  Balzac,  including  his 
portrait,  were  preserved  intact  by  the  family,  has  been  utterly  de- 
stroyed by  the  Bolsheviks. 


25o     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

children;  she  is  their  guide;  she  disentangles  for  them 
the  intricacies  of  the  vast  and  difficult  administration  of 
this  property.  She  has  given  up  everything  to  her  daugh- 
ter. I  have  known  of  her  intentions  ever  since  I  was 
at  St.  Petersburg.  I  am  delighted,  because  the  happiness 
of  my  life  will  thus  be  freed  from  all  self-interest.  It 
makes  me  all  the  more  earnest  to  guard  what  is  confided 
to  me.  ...  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  come  here  to 
make  me  understand  the  difficulties  of  all  kinds  which 
stand  in  the  way  of  the  fulfilment  of  my  desires." 89 

During  this  visit,  Balzac  complained  of  the  cold  of  Rus- 
sia in  January,  but  his  friends  were  careful  to  provide  him 
with  suitable  wraps.  Business  matters  compelled  him  to 
return  to  Paris  in  February.  In  leaving  this  happy  home, 
he  must  have  felt  the  contrast  in  arriving  in  Paris  during 
the  Revolution,  and  having  to  be  annoyed  again  with  his 
old  debts.  This  time,  he  went  to  his  new  home  in  the  rue 
Fortunee,  the  home  that  had  cost  the  couple  so  much 
money  and  was  to  cause  him  so  much  worry  if  not  regret. 

About  the  last  of  September,  1848,  Balzac  left  Paris 
again  for  Russia,  and  his  family  did  not  hear  from  him 
for  more  than  a  month  after  his  arrival.  His  mother  was 
left  with  two  servants  to  care  for  his  house  in  the  rue  For- 
tunee, as  he  expected  to  return  within  a  few  months.  It 
is  worthy  of  note  that  in  this  first  letter  to  her,  he  spoke 
of  being  in  very  good  health,  for  immediately  afterwards, 
he  was  seized  with  acute  bronchitis,  and  was  ill  much  of 
the  time  during  his  prolonged  stay  of  eighteen  months. 

89  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  327,  328,  November 
1847.  The  above  shows  that  Balzac's  ardent  passion  for  his 
Predilccta  was  for  herself  alone,  and  that  he  was  not  actuated  by  his 
greed  for  gold,  as  has  been  stated  by  various  writers. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        251 

Madame  Hanska  planned  to  have  him  pay  the  debts 
on  their  future  home  as  soon  as  the  harvest  was  gathered, 
but  concerning  the  most  important  question  he  writes : 

"  The  Countess  will  make  up  her  mind  to  nothing 
until  her  children  are  entirely  free  from  anxieties  re- 
garding their  fortune.  Moreover,  your  brother's  debts, 
whether  his  own,  or  those  he  has  in  common  with  the 
family,  trouble  her  enormously.  Nevertheless,  I  hope  to 
return  toward  the  end  of  August;  but  in  no  circum- 
stance will  I  ever  again  separate  myself  from  the  person 
I  love.  Like  the  Spartan,  I  intend  to  return  with  my 
shield  or  upon  it."  90 

Things  were  very  discouraging  at  Wierzchownia ;  Ma- 
dame Hanska  had  failed  to  receive  much  money  which  she 
was  to  inherit  from  an  uncle,  and,  in  less  than  six  weeks, 
four  fires  had  consumed  several  farm  houses  and  a  large 
quantity  of  grain  on  the  estate.  Although  they  both  were 
anxious  to  see  the  rue  Fortunee,  their  departure  was  un- 
certain. 

But  the  most  distressing  complication  was  the  condition 
of  Balzac's  health,  which  was  growing  worse.  He  com- 
plained of  the  frightful  Asiatic  climate,  with  its  excessive 
heat  and  cold ;  he  had  a  perpetual  headache,  and  his  heart 
trouble  had  increased  until  he  could  not  mount  the  stairs. 
But  he  had  implicit  faith  in  his  physicians,  and  with  his 
usual  hopefulness  felt  that  he  would  soon  be  cured,  con- 
gratulating himself  on  having  two  such  excellent  physi- 
cians as  Dr.  Knothe  and  his  son.  His  surroundings  were 

"Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  344,  January  1849.  Let- 
ter to  Madame  Surville. 


252     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

ideal,  and  each  of  the  household  had  for  him  an  at- 
tachment tender,  filial  and  sincere.  It  was  necessary  to 
his  welfare  that  his  life  should  be  without  vexation,  and 
he  asked  his  sister  to  entreat  their  mother  to  avoid  any- 
thing which  might  cause  him  pain. 

On  his  part,  he  tried  to  spare  his  mother  also  from  un- 
pleasant news,  and  desired  his  sister  to  assist  him  in  con- 
cealing from  her  the  real  facts.  He  had  had  another  ter- 
rible crisis  in  which  he  had  been  ill  for  more  than  a  month 
with  cephalalgic  fever,  and  he  had  grown  very  thin. 

Though  several  of  Balzac's  biographers  have  criticized 
Madame  Hanska  most  bitterly  for  holding  Balzac  in 
Russia,  and  some  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  censure  her 
for  his  early  death,  it  will  be  remembered  that  his  health 
had  long  before  begun  to  fail,  and  that  no  constitution 
could  long  endure  the  severe  strain  he  had  given  his.  No 
climate  could  help  his  worn-out  body  to  a  sufficient  degree. 
Balzac  himself  praised  the  conduct  of  the  entire  Hanski 
family.  The  following  is  only  one  of  his  numerous  testi- 
monies to  their  devotion : 

"Alas!  I  have  no  good  news  to  send.  In  all  that 
regards  the  affection,  the  tenderness  of  all,  the  desire 
to  root  out  the  evil  weeds  which  encumber  the  path  of 
my  life,  mother  and  children  are  sublime;  but  the  chief 
thing  of  all  is  still  subject  to  entanglements  and  delays, 
which  make  me  doubt  whether  it  is  God's  will  that  your 
brother  should  ever  be  happy,  at  least  in  that  way;  but 
as  regards  sincere  mutual  love,  delicacy  and  goodness, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  find  another  family  like  this. 
We  live  together  as  if  there  were  only  one  heart  amongst 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        25.3 

the  four;  this  is  repetition,  but  it  cannot  be  helped,  it  is 
the  only  definition  of  the  life  I  lead  here."  91 

The  situation  of  the  author  of  the  Comedie  humaine 
was  at  this  time  most  pitiable.  Broken  in  health  and  liv- 
ing in  a  climate  to  which  his  constitution  refused  to  be 
acclimated,92  weighted  down  by  a  load  of  debt  which  he 
was  unable  to  liquidate  in  his  state  of  health  (his  work 
having  amounted  to  very  little  during  his  stay  in  Russia), 
consumed  with  a  burning  passion  for  the  woman  who  had 
become  the  overpowering  figure  in  the  latter  half  of  his 
literary  career,  possessing  a  pride  that  was  making  him 
sacrifice  his  very  life  rather  than  give  up  his  long-sought 
treasure,  the  diamond  of  Poland,  his  very  soul  became 
so  imbued  with  this  devouring  passion  that  the  poor  mou- 
fik  was  scarcely  master  of  himself. 

His  family  were  suffering  various  misfortunes,  and 
these,  together  with  his  deplorable  condition,  caused 
Madame  Hanska  to  contemplate  giving  up  an  alliance 
with  a  man  whose  family  was  so  unfortunate  and  whose 
social  standing  was  so  far  beneath  hers.  She  preferred 
to  remain  in  Russia  where  she  was  rich,  and  moved  in  a 
high  aristocratic  circle,  rather  than  to  give  up  her  property 

91  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  367,  368,  June  21,  1849. 
Letter  to  Madame  Surville. 

92  Concerning  the  climate  of  Kieff,  the  Princess  Radziwill  says : 
"  The  story  that  the  climate  of  Kieff  was  harmful  to  Balzac  is  also 
a  legend.     In  that  part  of  Russia,  the  climate  is  almost  as  mild  as  is 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  Balzac,  when  he  was  staying  with  Madame 
Hanska,  was  nursed  as  he  would  never  have  been  anywhere  else, 
because  not  only  did  she  love  him  with  her  whole  heart,  but  her 
daughter  and  the  latter's  husband  were  also  devoted  to  him." —  Pri- 
vate papers  of  the  present  writer. 


254     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

and  assume  the  life  of  anxiety  and  trials  which  awaited 
her  as  Madame  Honore  de  Balzac. 

At  times  he  became  most  despondent;  the  long  wait- 
ing was  affecting  him  seriously,  and  he  hesitated  urging 
a  life  so  shattered  as  was  his  upon  the  friend  who,  like  a 
benignant  star,  had  shone  upon  his  path  during  the  past 
sixteen  years. 

"  If  I  lose  all  I  have  hoped  to  gain  here,  I  should  no 
longer  live;  a  garret  in  the  rue  Lesdiguieres  and  a  hun- 
dred francs  a  month  would  suffice  for  all  I  want.  My 
heart,  my  soul,  my  ambition,  all  that  is  within  me,  desires 
nothing,  except  the  one  object  I  have  had  in  view  for  six- 
teen years.  If  this  immense  happiness  escapes  me,  I  shall 
need  nothing.  I  will  have  nothing.  I  care  nothing  for 
la  rue  Fortunee  for  its  own  sake;  la  rue  Fortunee  has 
only  been  created  for  her  and  by  her."  93 

The  novelist  was  cautious  in  his  letters  lest  there  should 
be  gossip  about  his  secret  engagement,  and  his  possibly 
approaching  marriage.  Apropos  of  his  marriage,  he 
would  say  that  it  was  postponed  for  reasons  which  he 
could  not  give  his  family ;  Madame  Hanska  had  met  with 
financial  losses  again  through  fires  and  crop  failures. 
With  his  continued  illness,  he  had  many  things  to  trouble 
him. 

But  with  all  his  trials,  Balzac  remained  in  many  ways 
a  child.  After  the  terrible  Moldavian  fever  which  had 
endangered  his  life,  in  the  fall  of  1849  ne  took  great 
pleasure  in  a  dressing-gown  of  termolana  cloth.  He  had 

93  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  361,  March  1849.    Letter 
to  Madame  Surville. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       255 

wanted  one  of  these  gowns  since  he  first  saw  this  cloth  at 
Geneva  in  1834.  Again  he  was  ill,  for  twenty  days,  and 
his  only  amusement  was  in  seeing  Anna  depart  for  dances 
in  costumes  of  royal  magnificence.  The  Russian  toilettes 
were  wonderful,  and  while  the  women  ruined  their  hus- 
bands with  their  extravagance,  the  men  ruined  the  toilettes 
of  the  ladies  by  their  roughness.  In  a  mazurka  where  the 
men  contended  for  ladies'  handkerchiefs,  the  young 
Countess  had  one  worth  about  five  hundred  francs  torn  in 
pieces,  but  her  mother  repaired  the  loss  by  giving  her  an- 
other twice  as  costly. 

The  year  1850,  which  was  to  prove  so  fatal  to  Balzac, 
opened  with  a  bad  omen,  had  he  realized  it.  His  health, 
which  he  had  never  considered  as  he  should  have  done, 
was  seriously  affected,  and  early  in  January  another  ill- 
ness followed  which  kept  him  in  bed  for  several  days. 
He  thought  that  he  had  finally  become  acclimated,  but 
after  another  attack  a  few  weeks  later  he  concluded  that 
the  climate  was  impossible  for  nervous  temperaments. 

Such  was,  in  brief,  the  story  of  his  stay  in  Russia,  but 
his  optimism  and  devotion  continued,  and  he  writes : 

"  It  is  sanguine  to  think  I  could  set  off  on  March  15, 
and  in  that  case  I  should  arrive  early  in  April.  But  if 
my  long  cherished  hopes  are  realized,  there  would  be 
a  delay  of  some  days,  as  I  should  have  to  go  to  Kieff,  to 
have  my  passport  regulated.  These  hopes  have  become 
possibilities ;  these  four  or  five  successive  illnesses  —  the 
sufferings  of  a  period  of  acclimatization  —  which  my  af- 
fection has  enabled  me  to  take  joyfully,  have  touched 
this  sweet  soul  more  than  the  few  little  debts  which  re- 
main unpaid  have  frightened  her  as  a  prudent  woman, 


256     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

and  I  foresee  that  all  will  go  well.  In  the  face  of  this 
happy  probability,  the  journey  to  Kieff  is  not  to  be  re- 
gretted, for  the  Countess  has  nursed  me  heroically  with- 
out once  leaving  the  house,  so  you  ought  not  to  afflict 
yourself  for  the  little  delay  which  will  thus  be  caused. 
Even  in  that  case,  my,  or  our,  arrival  would  be  in  the 
first  fortnight  of  April."  94 

Until  the  very  last,  Balzac  was  very  careful  that  his 
family  should  not  announce  his  expected  wedding.  Fi- 
nally, all  obstacles  overcome,  the  long  desired  marriage  oc- 
curred March  14,  i85O.95  What  must  have  been  the  nov- 
elist's feeling  of  triumph,  after  almost  seventeen  years  of 
waiting,  suffering  and  struggle,  to  write : 

"  Thus,  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours  there  has  been 

94  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  388,  February  28,  1850. 
Letter  to  Madame  de  Balzac.    For  a  beautiful,  though  perhaps  col- 
ored, description  of  Madame  Hanska's  final  decision  not  to  allow 
Balzac  to  return  alone,  see  Gabriel  Ferry,  Balzac  et  ses  Amies,  pp. 
266-269. 

95  Though  Balzac  speaks  of  having  to  obtain  the  Czar's  permission 
to  marry,  the  Princess  Radziwill  states  that  no  permission  was  re- 
quired, asked  or  granted. 

Balzac  always  gave  March  14,  1850,  as  the  date  of  his  marriage, 
while  de  Lovenjoul  (the  Bookman,  v.  15,  p.  78,  1902)  and  M.  Stanis- 
las Rzewuski  (la  Nouvelle  Revue,  p.  202,  January,  1906)  give  the 
date  as  April  15,  1850.  The  Princess  Radziwill  writes :  "  Con- 
cerning the  date  of  Balzac's  marriage,  it  was  solemnized  as  he  wrote 
it  to  his  family,  on  March  2/14,  1850,  at  Berditcheff  in  Poland. 
Balzac,  however,  was  a  French  subject,  and  as  such  had  to  be  mar- 
ried according  to  the  French  civil  law,  by  a  French  consul.  There 
did  not  exist  one  in  Berditcheff,  so  they  had  perforce  to  repair  to 
Kieff  for  this  ceremony.  The  latter  took  place  on  April  3/15  of  the 
same  year,  and  this  explains  the  discrepancy  of  dates  you  mention, 
which  dates  refer  to  two  different  ceremonies." — Private  papers 
of  the  present  writer. 


Queen  Maria  Leczinska 

From  the  miniature  by  Jean  Baptiste  van  Loo, 
in  the  Morgan  collection 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        257 

a  Madame  five  de  Balzac,  nee  Countess  Rzewuska,  or  a 
Madame  Honore  de  Balzac,  or  a  Madame  de  Balzac  the 
elder.  This  is  no  longer  a  secret,  as  you  see  I  tell  it  to 
you  without  delay.  The  witnesses  were  the  Countess 
Mniszech,  the  son-in-law  of  my  wife,  the  Count  Gustave 
Olizar,  brother-in-law  of  the  Abbe  Czarouski,  the  envoy 
of  the  Bishop;  and  the  cure  of  the  parish  of  Berditcheff. 
The  Countess  Anna  accompanied  her  mother,  both  ex- 
ceedingly happy  .  .  ."  ! 96 

With  great  joy  and  childish  pride,  Balzac  informed  his 
old  friend  and  physician,  Dr.  Nacquart,  who  knew  so  well 
of  his  adoration  for  his  "  Polar  Star  "  and  his  seventeen 
long  years  of  untiring  pursuit,  that  he  had  become  the  hus- 
band of  the  grandniece  of  Marie  Leczinska  °7  and  the 

96  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  p.  392,  March   15,   1850. 
Letter    to    Madame    Surville.    M.    Paul    Flat,    Seconds  Essais   sur 
Balzac,  p.  78,  is,  of  course,  mistaken  in  his  dates  when  he  states  that 
after  eleven  years  of  adoration,  Balzac  married  Madame  Hanska 
in  1846. 

97  Queen  Marie  Leczinska  (correctly  written  Leszczinska)  was  the 
daughter  of  Queen  Catherine  Opalinska,  who  was  the  daughter  of 
Ursula  Eleonora  Rzewuska,  a  sister  of  Waclaw  Rzewuski;  he  was 
the  great  grandfather  of  Madame  Hanska  and  the  great  uncle  of 
Queen  Marie.     On  the  occasion  of  the  latter's  marriage  with  Louis 
XV,  Madame  Hanska's  family  received  from  the  King  the  official 
title  of  Cousins  du  Roi,  which  was  very  much  prized  in  the  old  days 
of  the   French   Monarchy.    Madame  Hanska's   relationship  to  the 
Queen  was   rather  distant   since   it  was   the  Queen's  grandmother 
who  was  the  great  aunt  of  Madame  Hanska,  and  the  Queen  her- 
self was  cousin  twice  removed  to  Madame  Hanska's   father;  but 
Balzac  with  his  imagination  of  course  saw  himself  at  once  nephew 
of  all  the  Bourbon  kings,  past,  present,  and  future.     The  Duchesse 
d'Angouleme,  daughter  of  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette,  recog- 
nized this  relationship,  however,  and  addressed  Madame  Hanska's 
father  as  Man  Cousin,  and  the  Comte  de  Chambord  (grandson  of 
Charles  X)   whom  Madame  Hanska's  brother  used  to  visit  every 


258     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

brother-in-law  of  an  aide-de-camp  general  of  His  Maj- 
esty the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  the  Count  Adam 
Rzewuski,  step-father  of  Count  Orloff;  the  nephew  of 
the  Countess  Rosalia  Rzewuska,  first  lady  of  honor  to 
Her  Majesty  the  Empress;  the  brother-in-law  of  Count 
Henri  Rzewuski,  the  Walter  Scott  of  Poland  as  Mizkiew- 
icz  is  the  Polish  Lord  Byron ;  the  father-in-law  of  Count 
Mniszech,  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  houses  of  the 
North,  etc.,  etc. ! 

Though  this  was  by  far  and  away  Balzac's  greatest  and 
most  passionate  love,  the  present  writer  cannot  agree  with 
the  late  Professor  Harry  Thurston  Peck  in  the  following 
dictum :  "  It  was  his  first  real  love,  and  it  was  her  last ; 
and,  therefore,  their  association  realized  the  very  charac- 
teristic aphorism  which  Balzac  wrote  in  a  letter  to  her 
after  he  had  known  her  but  a  few  short  weeks:  '  It  is 
only  the  last  love  of  a  woman  that  can  satisfy  the  first  love 
of  a  man.'  "  98 

After  their  marriage,  the  homeward  journey  was  de- 
layed several  weeks.  The  baggage,  which  was  to  be  con- 
veyed by  wagon,  only  left  April  2,  and  it  required  about 
two  weeks  for  it  to  reach  Radziwiloff,  owing  to  the  gen- 
eral thaw  just  set  in.  Then  Balzac  had  a  severe  relapse 
due  to  lung  trouble,  and  it  was  twelve  days  before  he  re- 
covered sufficiently  to  travel.  He  had  an  attack  of  oph- 
thalmia at  Kieff,  and  could  scarcely  see;  the  Countess 
Anna  fell  ill  with  the  measles,  and  her  mother  would  not 

year  at  Frohsdorf,  Austria,   always  treated  him  as  a  member  of 
his  family.    According  to  the  French  way  of  acknowledging  rela- 
tionships, Queen  Marie  was  tante  a  la  mode  de  Bretagne  of  Madame 
Hanska. 
98  Balzac  and  his  Work,  p.  10. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        259 

leave  until  the  Countess  recovered.  They  started  late  in 
April  for  what  proved  to  be  a  terrible  journey,  he  suffer- 
ing from  heart  trouble,  and  she  from  rheumatism.  On 
the  way  they  stopped  for  a  few  days  at  Dresden,  where 
Balzac  became  very  ill  again.  His  eyes  were  in  such  a 
condition  that  he  could  no  longer  see  the  letters  he  wrote. 
The  following,  written  from  Dresden,  gives  a  glimpse  of 
their  troubles : 

"  We  have  taken  a  whole  month  to  go  a  distance 
usually  done  in  six  days.  Not  once,  but  a  hundred  times 
a  day,  our  lives  have  been  in  danger.  We  have  often 
been  obliged  to  have  fifteen  or  sixteen  men,  with  levers, 
to  get  us  out  of  the  bottomless  mudholes  into  which  we 
had  sunk  up  to  the  carriage-doors.  ...  At  last,  we  are 
here,  alive,  but  ill  and  tired.  Such  a  journey  ages  one 
ten  years,  for  you  can  imagine  what  it  is  to  fear  killing 
each  other,  or  to  be  killed  the  one  by  the  other,  loving 
each  other  as  we  do.  'My  wife  feels  grateful  for  all  you 
say  about  her,  but  her  hands  do  not  permit  her  to 
write.  .  .  ."" 

Madame  de  Balzac  has  been  most  severely  criticized  for 
her  lack  of  affection  for  Balzac,  and  their  married  life 
has  generally  been  conceded  to  have  been  very  unhappy. 
This  supposition  seems  to  have  been  based  largely  on  hear- 
say. Miss  Sandars  quotes  from  a  letter  written  to  her 
daughter  on  May  16  from  Frankfort,  in  which,  speaking 
of  Balzac  as  "  poor  dear  friend,"  she  seems  to  be  quite 
ignorant  of  his  condition,  and  to  show  more  interest  in 
her  necklace  than  in  her  husband.  The  present  writer  has 

99  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  402,  403,  May  n,  1850. 
Letter  to  Madame  Surville. 


260     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

not  seen  this  unpublished  letter;  but  a  published  letter 
dated  a  few  days  before  the  other,  in  which  she  not  only 
refers  to  Balzac  as  her  husband  but  shows  both  her  affec- 
tion for  him  and  her  interest  in  his  condition,  runs  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Hotel  de  Russie  (Dresden).  My  husband  has  just 
returned;  he  has  attended  to  all  his  affairs  with  a  re- 
markable activity,  and  we  are  leaving  to-day.  I  did  not 
realize  what  an  adorable  being  he  is ;  I  have  known  him 
for  seventeen  years,  and  every  day,  I  perceive  that  there 
is  a  new  quality  in  him  which  I  did  not  know.  If  he 
could  only  enjoy  health!  Speak  to  M.  Knothe  about  it, 
I  beg  you.  You  have  no  idea  how  he  suffered  last 
night!  I  hope  his  natal  air  will  help  him,  but  if  this 
hope  fails  me,  I  shall  be  much  to  be  pitied,  I  assure  you. 
It  is  such  happiness  to  be  loved  and  protected  thus. 
His  eyes  are  also  very  bad ;  I  do  not  know  what  all  that 
means,  and  at  times,  I  am  very  sad.  I  hope  to  give  you 
better  news  to-morrow,  when  I  shall  write  you."  1 

Comments  have  been  made  on  the  fact  that  Balzac  wrote 
his  sister  his  wife's  hands  were  too  badly  swollen  from 
rheumatism  to  write  and  yet  she  wrote  to  her  daughter; 
but  there  is  a  difference  between  a  mother's  letter  to  her 
only  child,  and  one  to  a  mother-in-law  as  hostile  as  she 
knew  hers  to  be.  She  probably  did  not  care  to  write,  and 
Balzac,  to  smooth  matters  for  her,  gave  this  excuse. 

The  long  awaited  but  tragic  arrival  took  place  late  in  the 
night  of  May  20,  1850.  The  home  in  the  rue  Fortunee 
was  brilliantly  lighted,  and  through  the  windows  could  be 

1 L' Intermediate  des  Chercheurs  et  Curieux,  November  30,  1912, 
p.  704.  Letter  from  Madame  Honore  de  Balzac  to  her  daughter, 
the  Countess  de  Mniszech,  May  9,  1850. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        261 

seen  the  many  beautiful  flowers  arranged  in  accordance 
with  his  oft  repeated  request  to  his  poor  old  mother.  But 
alas !  to  their  numerous  tugs  at  the  door-bell  no  response 
came,  so  a  locksmith  had  to  be  sent  for  to  open  the  doors. 
The  minutest  details  of  Balzac's  orders  for  their  reception 
had  been  obeyed,  but  the  unfortunate,  faithful  Francois 
Munch,  under  the  excitement  and  strain  of  the  prepara- 
tions, had  suddenly  gone  insane. 

Was  this  a  sinister  omen,  or  was  it  an  exemplification 
of  the  old  Turkish  proverb,  "  The  house  completed,  death 
enters  "  ?  Our  hero's  marriage  proved  to  be  the  last  of 
his  illusions  perdues,  for  only  three  months  more  were  to 
be  granted  him.  MM.  Hanotaux  et  Vicaire  have  perti- 
nently remarked  that  five  years  before  his  death,  Balzac 
closed  Les  petites  Miseres  de  la  Vie  conjugal  with  these 
prophetic  words :  "  Who  has  not  heard  an  Italian  opera 
of  some  kind  in  his  life?  .  .  .  You  must  have  noticed, 
then,  the  musical  abuse  of  the  word  felichitta  lavished  by 
the  librettist  and  the  chorus  at  the  time  every  one  is  rush- 
ing from  his  box  or  leaving  his  stall.  Ghastly  image  of 
life.  One  leaves  it  the  moment  the  felichitta  is  heard." 
After  so  many  years  of  waiting  and  struggle,  he  attained 
the  summit  of  happiness,  but  was«to  obey  the  summons  of 
death  and  leave  this  world  just  as  the  chorus  was  singing 
"  felichitta" 

Some  of  Balzac's  biographers  have  criticized  Madame 
Honore  de  Balzac  not  only  for  having  been  heartless  and 
indifferent  towards  him,  but  for  having  neglected  him  in 
his  last  days  on  earth.  Her  nephew,  M.  Stanislas  Rzewu- 
ski,  defended  her,  he  said,  not  because  she  was  his  aunt 
but  because  of  the  injustice  done  to  the  memory  of  this 


262     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

poor  etrangere,  whose  faithful  tenderness,  admiration  and 
devotion  had  comforted  the  earthly  exile  of  a  man  of 
genius.  Balzac,  realizing  his  hopeless  condition,  was  de- 
spondent ;  his  hopes  were  blighted,  and  his  physical  suffer- 
ings doubtless  made  him  irritable.  On  the  other  hand, 
Madame  de  Balzac,  however  seductive  and  charming, 
however  worthy  of  being  adored  and  being  his  "  star," 
had  a  high  temper.  This  was  the  natural  temper  of  an 
aristocratic  woman.  It  never  passed  the  limits  of  de- 
corum, but  it  was  violent  and  easily  provoked.2  Then 
too,  she  had  been  accustomed  to  luxury  and  had  never 
known  poverty.  She  was  ill  also  and  probably  disap- 
pointed in  life. 

M.  Rzewuski  has  resented,  and  doubtless  justly  so,  the 
oft-quoted  death  scene  drawn  by  Victor  Hugo.  He  says 
that  at  such  a  time  the  great  poet  was  perhaps  a  most 
unwelcome  guest  and  she  had  left  the  room  to  avoid  him; 
that  she  probably  returned  before  Balzac's  last  moments 
came;  that  Hugo  was  only  there  a  short  while;  that  if  she 
did  not  return  she  could  not  have  known  that  this  was  to 
be  Balzac's  last  night  on  earth,  and  that,  worn  out  with 
watching  and  waiting,  she  was  justified  in  retiring  to  seek 
a  much  needed  rest.3 

2  The  Princess  Radziwill  states  that  there  are  several  inaccuracies 
in  this  article  by  her  half-brother.     He  was  very  young  when  their 
aunt  died,  and  he  was  influenced  by  his  mother,  who  never  liked 
Madame  de   Balzac.     She  points   out  that  her  aunt's  temper   was 
most  even,  that  she  never  heard  her  raise  her  voice,  and  only  once 
saw  her  angry. 

3  As  to  Octave  Mirbeau's  calumnious  story,  denied  by  both  the 
Countess   Mniszech   and   Gigoux's   nephew   and   heir,    the    Princess 
Radziwill    states   that   when   Balzac   died,   her   aunt   did   not   know 
Gigoux  and  had  never  seen  him.    He  was  introduced  to  her  only 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       263 

The  story  is  told  that  when  Dr.  Nacquart  informed  Bal- 
zac that  he  must  die,  the  novelist  exclaimed :  "  Go  call 
Bianchon !  Bianchon  will  save  me !  Bianchon !  "  The 
Princess  Radziwill  states,  however,  that  she  has  heard  her 
aunt  say  often  that  this  story  is  not  true.  But  were  it 
true,  Balzac's  condition  was  such  that  no  physician  could 
have  saved  him,  even  though  possessing  all  the  ability  por- 
trayed by  the  novelist  in  the  notable  and  omnipresent  Dr. 
Horace  Bianchon,  who  had  saved  so  many  characters  of 
the  Comedie  humaine,  who  had  comforted  in  their  dying 
hours  all  ranks  from  the  poverty-stricken  Pere  Goriot  to 
the  wealthy  Madame  Graslin,  from  the  corrupt  Madame 
Marneffe  to  the  angelic  Pierette  Lorrain,  whose  incom- 
parable fame  had  spread  over  a  large  part  of  Europe. 

Madame  Hanska  has  been  reproached  also  for  the  med- 
ical treatment  given  Balzac  in  Russia.  It  is  doubtless  true 
that  lemon  juice  is  not  considered  the  proper  treatment  for 
heart  disease  in  this  enlightened  age,  but  seventy  years 
ago,  in  the  wilds  of  Russia,  there  was  probably  no  better 
medical  aid  to  be  secured;  and  even  if  Dr.  Knothe  and  his 
son  were  "  charlatans,"  it  will  be  remembered  that  Balzac 
not  only  had  a  penchant  for  such,  but  that  he  was  very 
fond  of  these  two  physicians  and  thought  their  treatment 
superior  to  that  which  was  given  at  Paris. 

M.  de  Fiennes  complained  that  grass  was  allowed  to 
grow  on  Balzac's  grave.  To  this  M.  Eugene  de  Mire- 
court  replied  that  what  M.  de  Fiennes  had  taken  for  grass 
was  laurel,  thyme,  buckthorn  and  white  jasmine;  the 
grave  of  Balzac  was  constantly  and  religiously  kept  in 

in  1860  by  her  daughter,  who  asked  him  to  paint  her  mother's 
portrait,  and  they  became  good  friends.—  Private  papers  of  the 
present  writer. 


264     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

good  order  by  his  widow.  One  could  ask  any  of  the 
gardeners  of  Pere-Lachaise  thereupon. 

Whatever  the  attitude  of  Balzac's  wife  towards  him 
during  his  life,  she  acted  most  nobly  indeed  in  the  mat- 
ter of  his  debts.  Instead  of  accepting  the  inheritance  left 
her  in  her  husband's  will  and  selling  her  rights  in  all  his 
works,  the  beautiful  etr  anger  c  accepted  courageously  the 
terrible  burden  left  to  her,  and  paid  the  novelist's  mother 
an  annuity  of  three  thousand  francs  until  her  death,  which 
occurred  March,  1854.  She  succeeded  in  accomplishing 
this  liquidation,  which  was  of  exceptional  difficulty,  and 
long  before  her  death  every  one  of  Balzac's  creditors  had 
been  paid  in  full. 

There  seems  to  be  no  authoritative  proof  that  Balzac's 
married  life  was  either  happy  or  unhappy.  The  Princess 
Radziwill  always  understood  from  her  aunt  that  they 
were  as  happy  as  one  could  expect,  considering  that  Bal- 
zac's days  were  numbered.  The  present  writer  is  fain  to 
say,  with  Mr.  Edward  King :  "  He  died  happy,  for  he 
died  in  the  full  realization  of  a  pure  love  which  had  up- 
held him  through  some  of  the  bitterest  trials  that  ever  fall 
to  the  lot  of  man."  4 

"  Say  to  your  dear  child  the  most  tenderly  endearing 
things  in  the  name  of  one  of  the  most  sincere  and  faith- 
ful friends  she  will  ever  have,  not  excepting  her  hus- 
band, for  I  love  her  as  her  father  loved  her."  5 

*  Balzac,  Westminster  Review,  November  1911,  p.  531. 

5  Corresfondance,  1819-1850,  v.  2,  p.  130,  February  15,  1845.  The 
Countess  Mniszech  died  in  September,  1914,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine,  so  must  have  been  born  about  1825  or  1826.  She  spent  the 
twenty-five  years  preceding  her  demise  in  a  convent  in  the  rue  de 
Vaugirard  in  Paris,  and  retained  her  right  mind  until  the  day  of  her 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       265 

Balzac  was  probably  never  more  sincere  than  when  he 
wrote  this  message,  for  perhaps  no  father  ever  loved  his 
own  child  more  devotedly  than  he  loved  Anna,  the  only 
child  living  of  M.  and  Mme.  de  Hanski. 

Most  of  Balzac's  biographers  who  state  that  he  met 
Madame  Hanska  on  the  promenade,  say  that  her  little 
daughter  was  with  her.  Wherever  he  first  met  her,  she 
won  his  heart  completely.  Some  pebbles  she  gathered 
during  his  first  visit  to  her  mother  at  Neufchatel,  Balzac 
had  made  into  a  little  cross,  on  the  back  of  which  was  en- 
graved: adoremus  in  aeternum.  She  was  at  this  time 
about  seven  or  eight  years  of  age.  When  he  visited  them 
again  at  Geneva,  their  friendship  increased,  and  in  writ- 
ing to  her  mother  he  sent  the  child  kisses  from  son 
pauvre  cheval.  He  loved  her  little  playthings,  some  of 
which  he  kept  on  his  desk;  was  always  wanting  to  send 
her  gifts,  anxious  for  her  health  and  happiness,  took  great 
interest  in  her  musical  talent,  and  was  ever  delighted  to 
hear  of  her  progress  or  pleasures.  One  of  his  rather 
typical  messages  to  her  in  her  earlier  years  was :  "  Place 
a  kiss  on  Anna's  brow  from  the  most  tranquil  steed  she 
will  ever  have  in  her  stables."  6 

As  she  grew  older,  the  novelist  thought  of  dedicating 
one  of  his  works  to  her,  and  wrote  to  her  mother  that  the 
first  young  girl  story  he  should  compose  he  would  like  to 
dedicate  to  Anna,  if  agreeable  to  both  of  them.  The 
mother's  consent  was  granted,  and  he  assured  her  that  the 

death.    It  will  always  be  one  of  the  greatest  regrets  of  the  present 
writer  that  she  did  not  know  of  this  before  the  Countess's  death, 
for  the  Countess  could  doubtless  have  given  her  much  information 
not  to  be  obtained  elsewhere. 
6  Letires  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  411,  July  8,  1837. 


266     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

story  Pierrette  (written,  by  the  way,  in  ten  days)  was 
suitable  for  Anna  to  read.  "  Pierrette  is  one  of  those  ten- 
der flowers  of  melancholy  which  in  advance  are  certain 
of  success.  As  the  book  is  for  Anna,  I  do  not  wish  to 
tell  you  anything  about,  it,  but  leave  you  the  pleasure  of 
surprise."  7 

"  To  Mademoiselle  Anna  de  Hanska : 

"  Dear  Child,  you,  the  joy  of  an  entire  home,  you 
whose  white  or  rose-colored  scarf  flutters  in  the  sum- 
mer through  the  groves  of  Wierzchownia,  like  a  will-o'- 
the-wisp,  followed  by  the  tender  eyes  of  your  father  and 
mother  —  how  can  I  dedicate  to  you  a  story  full  of 
melancholy?  But  is  it  not  well  to  tell  you  of  sorrow 
such  as  a  young  girl  so  fondly  loved  as  you  are  will 
never  know?  For  some  day  your  fair  hands  may  com- 
fort the  unfortunate.  It  is  so  difficult,  Anna,  to  find  in 
the  history  of  our  manners  any  incident  worthy  of  meet- 
ing your  eye,  that  an  author  has  no  choice;  but  perhaps 
you  may  discern  how  happy  you  are  from  reading  this 
story,  sent  by 

"  Your  old  friend, 

"  DE  BALZAC." 

Balzac  was  very  proud  of  the  success  of  Pierrette,  and 
wished  Madame  Hanska  to  have  Anna  read  it,  assuring 
her  that  there  was  nothing  "  improper  "  in  it. 

"Pierrette  has   appeared   in  the  Siecle.    The   manu- 

7  Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  p.  522,  October  30,  1839.  M.  Eugene 
de  Mirecourt  (Les  Contemporains,  Balzac,  p.  49)  is,  of  course,  mis- 
taken in  saying  that  Pierrette  is  dedicated  to  Madame  Hanska.  M. 
Edmond  Pilon  {Les  Dedicaces  dans  I'auvre  de  Balzac,  Revue  Poli- 
tique  et  Litteraire,  p.  71,  1902),  also  is  mistaken  in  saying  that  Anna 
is  the  niece  of  Madame  Hanska. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        267 

script  is  bound  for  Anna.  L' envoi  has  appeared;  I  en- 
close it  to  you.  Friends  and  enemies  proclaim  this  little 
book  a  masterpiece;  I  shall  be  glad  if  they  are  not  mis- 
taken. You  will  read  it  soon,  as  it  is  being  printed  in 
book  form.  People  have  placed  it  beside  the  Recherche 
de  I'Absolu.  I  am  willing.  I  myself  would  like  to  place 
it  beside  Anna."  8 

After  the  death  of  Anna's  father,  Balzac  advised  her 
mother  in  many  ways.  His  interest  in  Anna's  musical 
ability,  which  was  very  rare,  increased  and  he  had  Liszt 
call  on  Madame  Hanska  and  play  for  them  when  he  went 
to  St.  Petersburg.  He  expressed  his  gratitude  to  Liszt 
for  this  favor  by  dedicating  to  him  La  Duchesse  de  Lan- 
geais.  He  regretted  this  later,  after  the  musician  fell  into 
such  discredit. 

Balzac  was  anxious  that  Madame  Hanska  should  man- 
age the  estate  wisely,  and  that  she  should  be  very  careful 
in  selecting  a  husband  for  Anna.  The  young  girl  had 
many  suitors  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  he  expressed  his  opin- 
ion freely  about  them.  He  wanted  her  to  be  happily  mar- 
ried, and  wrote  her  mother  regarding  the  essential  quali- 
ties of  a  husband.  He  loved  Anna  for  her  mother's  sake 
as  well  as  for  her  own,  and  when  the  fond  mother  wrote 
him  about  certain  traits  of  her  daughter  he  encouraged 
her  to  be  proud  of  Anna,  for  she  was  far  superior  to  the 
best-bred  young  people  of  Paris. 

He  did  not  approve,  at  first,  of  the  young  Count  de 
Mniszech  and  championed  another  suitor;  later  he  and 
the  Count  became  warm  friends,  and  in  1846,  he  dedi- 

BLcttres  a  I'&trangcre,  v.  i,  p.  528,  February  1840.  The  dedica- 
tion was  placed  at  the  end,  en  envoi. 


268     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

cated  to  him  Maitre  Cornelius,  written  in  1831.  Besides 
having  a  very  handsome  cane  made  for  him,  he  sent  him 
many  gifts. 

Balzac  expressed  his  admiration  of  Anna  not  only  to 
her  mother,  but  to  others.  He  wrote  the  Count,  who  was 
soon  to  become  her  husband,  that  she  was  the  most  charm- 
ing young  girl  he  had  ever  seen  in  the  most  refined  circles 
of  society.  He  found  her  far  more  attractive  than  his 
niece,  who  had  the  bloom  of  a  beautiful  Norman,  and  he 
thought  that  possibly  some  of  his  admiration  for  her  was 
due  to  his  great  affection  for  her  mother. 

One  is  surprised  to  see  what  foresight  Balzac  had  —  so 
many  things  he  said  proved  to  be  true.  He  thought,  for 
instance,  that  Anna  had  the  physique  to  live  a  hundred 
years,  that  she  had  no  sense  of  the  practical,  that  her 
mother  —  as  he  took  care  to  warn  her  —  would  do  well 
to  keep  her  estate  separate  from  her  daughter's,  or  other- 
wise she  might  some  day  have  cause  for  regret.  Whether 
Madame  Honore  de  Balzac  was  too  busy  with  literary  and 
business  duties  after  her  husband's  death,  or  whether  her 
extreme  affection  prevented  her  refusing  her  only  child 
anything  she  wished,  the  results  were  disastrous.  It  was 
fortunate  for  Balzac  that  he  did  not  live  to  see  the  fate  of 
his  paragon,  for  this  would  have  grieved  him  deeply,  while 
he  probably  would  not  have  been  able  to  remedy  matters. 

While  a  part  of  Balzac's  affection  for  Anna  was  doubt- 
less owing  to  his  adoration  for  her  mother,  she  must  have 
had  in  her  own  person  some  very  charming  traits,  for 
after  he  had  lived  in  their  home  for  more  than  a  year, 
where  he  must  have  studied  her  most  carefully,  he  says  of 
her :  "  It  is  true  that  the  Countess  Anna  and  Count 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       269 

George  are  two  ideal  perfections;  I  did  not  believe  two 
such  beings  could  exist.  There  is  a  nobleness  of  life  and 
sentiment,  a  gentleness  of  manners,  an  evenness  of  tem- 
per, which  cannot  be  believed  unless  you  have  lived  with 
them.  With  all  this,  there  is  a  playfulness,  a  spontaneous 
gaiety,  which  dispels  weariness  or  monotony.  Never 
have  I  been  so  thoroughly  in  my  right  place  as  here."  9 

Balzac  certainly  was  not  tactful  in  continually  praising 
the  young  Countess  to  his  sister  and  his  nieces,  but  he 
was  doubtless  sincere,  and  no  record  has  been  found  of 
his  ever  having  changed  his  opinion  of  this  young  Russian 
whom  he  loved  so  tenderly. 

A  woman  who  played  an  important  role  in  Balzac's  as- 
sociation with  Madame  Hanska  was  Mademoiselle  Hen- 
riette  Borel,  called  Lirette.  She  had  been  governess  in 
the  home  of  Madame  Hanska  since  1824.  Sympathetic 
and  devoted  to  the  children,  she  grieved  when  death  took 
them.  She  helped  save  Anna's  life,  for  which  the  entire 
family  loved  her.  It  was  doubtless  due  to  her  influence 
that  M.  de  Hanski  and  his  family  chose  Neufchatel,  her 
home  city,  as  a  place  to  sojourn.  They  arrived  there  in 
the  summer  of  1833,  and  left  early  in  October  of  the  same 
year.  While  at  Neufchatel  they  were  very  gracious  to 
Lirette's  relatives  and  Madame  Hanska  invited  them  to 
visit  her  at  Geneva. 

Whether  Lirette  wrote  with  her  own  hand  the  first  let- 
ters sent  by  Madame  Hanska  to  Balzac  —  letters  which 
de  Lovenjoul  says  were  not  in  the  handwriting  of  the 

9  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Balzac,  v.  2,  pp.  381,  382,  November  29, 
1849.    Letter  to  Madame  Surville. 


2 7o     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Predilecta  —  we  shall  probably  never  know,  but  that  she 
knew  of  the  secret  correspondence  and  aided  in  it  is  seen 
from  the  following : 

"  My  celestial  love,  find  an  impenetrable  place  for  my 
letters.  Oh!  I  entreat  you,  let  no  harm  come  to  you. 
Let  Henriette  be  their  faithful  guardian,  and  make  her 
take  all  the  precautions  that  the  genius  of  woman  dic- 
tates in  such  a  case.  .  .  .  Do  not  deceive  yourself,  my 
dear  Eve ;  one  does  not  return  to  Mademoiselle  Henriette 
Borel  a  letter  so  carefully  folded  and  sealed  without 
looking  at  it.  There  are  clever  dissimulations.  Now  I 
entreat  you,  take  a  carriage  that  you  may  never  get  wet 
in  going  to  the  post.  ...  Go  every  Wednesday,  because 
the  letters  posted  here  on  Sunday  arrive  on  Wednesday. 
I  will  never,  whatever  may  be  the  urgency,  post  letters 
for  you  on  any  day  except  Sunday.  Burn  the  envelopes. 
Let  Henriette  scold  the  man  at  the  post-office  for  having 
delivered  a  letter  which  was  marked  paste  restante,  but 
scold  him  laughing,  .  .  ." 10 

Balzac  courteously  sent  greetings  to  Lirette  in  his  letters 
to  Madame  Hanska,  and  evidently  liked  her.  Her  relig- 
ious tendencies  probably  impressed  him  many  years  be- 
fore she  took  the  veil,  for  he  writes  of  her  praying  for 
him. 

While  Balzac  naturally  met  Lirette  in  his  visits  to 
Madame  Hanska,  it  was  while  he  was  at  St.  Petersburg 
in  the  summer  of  1843  that  ne  became  more  intimate  with 
her,  for  she  had  decided  to  become  a  nun,  and  consulted 
him  on  many  points.  Since  she  was  to  enter  a  convent 
at  Paris,  he  visited  a  priest  there  for  her,  secured  the 
™Lettres  d.  l'£trangere,  v.  i,  pp.  48,  58,  October  6,  26,  1833. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       271 

necessary  documents,  and  advised  her  about  many  mat- 
ters, especially  her  property  and  the  convent  she  should 
enter.  Though  he  aided  her  in  every  way  he  could,  he 
did  not  approve  of  this  step,  but  when  she  arrived  in 
Paris,  he  entertained  her  in  his  home,  giving  up  his  room 
for  her.  At  various  times  he  went  with  her  to  the  con- 
vent and  his  housekeeper,  Madame  de  Brugnolle,  also  was 
very  kind  to  her. 

Lirette  impressed  the  novelist  as  being  very  stupid,  and 
he  wondered  how  his  "  Polar  Star  "  could  have  ever  made 
a  friend  of  her.  She  was  as  blind  a  Catholic  as  she  had 
been  a  blind  Protestant.  She  seemed  willing  now  to  have 
him  marry  Madame  Hanska,  after  many  years  of  aver- 
sion to  him.  He  tried  to  impress  upon  her  that  a  rich  nun 
was  much  better  treated  than  a  poor  one,  but  she  would 
not  listen  to  him,  and  insisted  on  making  what  he  consid- 
ered a  premature  donation  of  everything  she  possessed  to 
her  convent.  She  annoyed  him  very  much  while  he  was 
trying  to  save  her  property,  yet  he  was  pleased  to  do  this 
for  the.sake  of  his  Predilecta  and  Anna.  He  looked  after 
her  with  the  same  solicitude  that  a  father  would  have  for 
his  child,  and  after  doing  everything  possible  for  her,  he 
conducted  her  to  the  Convent  de  la  Visitation  without  a 
word  of  thanks  from  her,  though  he  had  made  sacrifices 
for  her,  and  though  his  housekeeper  had  slept  on  a  mat- 
tress on  the  floor,  giving  up  her  room  in  order  that  Lirette 
should  have  suitable  quarters.  But  although  hurt  by  her 
ingratitude  he  had  enjoyed  talking  with  her,  for  she 
brought  him  news  from  his  friends  in  Russia. 

Lirette  evidently  did  not  realize  what  she  was  doing  in 
the  matter  of  the  convent,  and  was  displeased  with  many 


272     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

things  after  entering  it.  Balzac  was  vexed  at  what  she 
wrote  to  Madame  Hanska,  but  felt  that  she  was  not  alto- 
gether responsible  for  her  actions,  believing  that  it  was  a 
very  personal  sentiment  which  caused  her  to  enter  the 
convent.11  He  could  not  understand  her  indifference  to 
her  friends;  she  did  penance  by  keeping  a  letter  from 
Anna  eighteen  days  before  opening  it.  He  found  her 
stupidity  unequaled,  but  he  sent  his  housekeeper  to  see 
her,  and  visited  her  himself  when  he  had  time. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  the  poor  novelist  had  one  more 
trial  to  undergo;  this  was  to  see  her  take  the  vows  (De- 
cember 2,  1845).  He  was  misinformed  as  to  the  time  of 
the  ceremony,  so  went  too  soon  and  wasted  much  precious 
time,  but  he  remained  through  the  long  service  in  order  to 
see  her  afterwards.  But  in  all  this  Lirette  was  to  accom- 
plish one  thing  for  him.  As  she  had  helped  in  his  cor- 
respondence, she  was  soon  to  be  the  means  of  bringing 
him  and  his  CMtelaine  together  again;  the  devotion  of 
Madame  Hanska  and  Anna  to  the  former  governess  be- 
ing such  that  they  came  to  Paris  to  see  her. 

In  the  home  of  the  de  Hanskis  in  the  Russian  waste 
were  two  other  women,  Mesdemoiselles  Severine  and 

11  It  has  been  stated  that  Mademoiselle  Borel  was  so  impressed 
by  the  chants,  lights  and  ceremony  at  the  funeral  of  M.  de  Hanski 
in  November  1841,  that  it  caused  her  to  give  up  her  Protestant  faith 
and  enter  the  convent.  Miss  Sandars  {Balzac,  p.  127)  has  well 
remarked :  "  We  may  wonder,  however,  whether  tardy  remorse 
for  her  deceit  toward  the  dead  man,  who  had  treated  her  with 
kindness,  had  not  its  influence  in  causing  this  sudden  religious  en- 
thusiasm, and  whether  the  Sister  in  the  Convent  of  the  Visitation  in 
Paris  gave  herself  extra  penance  for  her  sins  of  connivance." 

Mademoiselle  Borel  died  in  this  convent,  rue  d'Enfer,  in  1857, 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS       273 

Denise  Wylezynska,  who  were  to  play  a,  small  part  in 
Balzac's  life.  Both  of  these  relatives  probably  came  with 
M.  de  Hanski  and  his  family  to  Switzerland  in  1833 ;  their 
names  are  mentioned  frequently  in  his  letters  to  Madame 
Hanska,  and  soon  after  his  visit  at  Neufchatel  the  novelist 
asks  that  Mademoiselle  Severine  preserve  her  gracious  in- 
difference. These  ladies  were  cousins  of  M.  de  Hanski, 
and  probably  were  sisters  of  M.  Thaddee  Wylezynski, 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Madame  Hanska.  After 
her  husband's  death,  Madame  Hanska  must  have  invited 
these  two  ladies  to  live  with  her,  for  Balzac  inquires  about 
the  two  young  people  she  had  with  her. 

Mademoiselle  Denise  has  been  suspected  of  having  writ- 
ten the  first  letter  for  Madame  Hanska,  and  the  dedication 
of  La  Grenadiere  has  been  replaced  by  the  initials  "  A.  D. 
W.,"  supposed  to  mean  "  a  Denise  Wylezynska  " ;  the  ac- 
tual dedication  is  an  unpublished  correction  of  Balzac 
himself. 

The  relative  that  caused  Balzac  the  most  discomfort 
was  the  Countess  Rosalie  Rzewuska,  nee  Princess  Lubom- 
irska,  wife  of  Count  Wenceslas  Rzewuski,  Madame  Han- 
ska's  uncle.  She  seems  to  have  been  continually  hearing 
either  that  he  was  married,  or  something  that  was  detri- 
mental, and  kept  him  busy  denying  these  reports : 

"  I  have  here  your  last  letter  in  which  you  speak  to 
me  of  Madame  Rosalie  and  of  Semphita.  Relative  to 
your  aunt,  I  confess  that  I  am  ignorant  by  what  law  it 
is  that  persons  so  well  bred  can  believe  such  calumnies. 
I,  a  gambler!  Can  your  aunt  neither  reason,  calculate 
nor  combine  anything  except  whist?  I,  who  work,  even 
here,  sixteen  hours  a  day,  how  should  I  go  to  a  gambling- 


274     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

house  that  takes  whole  nights?  It  is  as  absurd  as  it  is 
crazy.  .  .  .  Your  letter  was  sad;  I  felt  it  was  written 
under  the  influence  of  your  aunt.  .  .  .  Let  your  aunt 
judge  in  her  way  of  my  works,  of  which  she  knows 
neither  the  whole  design  nor  the  bearing;  it  is  her  right. 
I  submit  to  all  judgments.  .  .  .  Your  aunt  makes  me 
think  of  a  poor  Christian  who,  entering  the  Sistine  chapel 
just  as  Michael-Angelo  has  drawn  a  nude  figure,  asks 
why  the  popes  allow  such  horrors  in  Saint  Peter's. 
She  judges  a  work  from  at  least  the  same  range  in 
literature  without  putting  herself  at  a  distance  and 
awaiting  its  end.  She  judges  the  artist  without  know- 
ing him,  and  by  the  sayings  of  ninnies.  All  that  gives 
me  little  pain  for  myself,  but  much  for  her,  if  you  love 
her.  But  that  you  should  let  yourself  be  influenced  by 
such  errors,  that  does  grieve  me  and  makes  me  very  un- 
easy, for  I  live  by  my  friendships  only."  12 

In  spite  of  this,  Balzac  wished  to  obtain  the  good  will  of 
"  Madame  Rosalie,"  and  sympathized  with  her  when  she 
lost  her  son.  But  she  had  a  great  dislike  for  Paris,  and 
after  the  death  of  M.  de  Hanski,  she  objected  to  her 
niece's  going  there.  The  novelist  felt  that  she  was  his 
sworn  enemy,  and  that  she  went  too  far  in  her  hatred  of 
everything  implied  in  the  word  Paris  13 ;  yet  he  pardoned 
her  for  the  sake  of  her  niece. 

It  was  Caliste  Rzewuska,  the  daughter  of  this  aunt, 
whom  Balzac  had  in  mind  when  he  sketched  Modeste  Mig- 

12  Lettres  d  1'f.trangere,  v.  I,  pp.  334-336,  June,  1836. 

13  The  reason  why  Madame  Rosalie  had  such  a  horror  of  Paris 
was  that  her  mother  was  guillotined  there, —  the  same  day  as  Ma- 
dame Elizabeth.    Madame  Rosalie  was  only  a  child  at  that  time, 
and  was  discovered  in  the  home  of  a  washerwoman. 


SENTIMENTAL  FRIENDSHIPS        275 

non.  She  was  married  to  M.  Michele-Angelo  Cajetani, 
Prince  de  Teano  and  Due  de  Sermoneta,  to  whom  Les 
Parents  pauvres  is  dedicated. 

Balzac  seems  to  have  had  something  of  the  same  antip- 
athy for  Madame  Hanska's  sister  Caroline  that  he  had 
for  her  aunt  Rosalie,  but  since  he  wrote  to  his  Predilecta 
many  unfavorable  things  of  a  private  nature  about  his 
family,  she  may  have  done  the  same  concerning  hers,  so 
that  he  may  not  have  had  a  fair  opportunity  of  judging 
her.  He  was  friendly  towards  her  at  times,  and  she  is 
the  Madame  Cherkowitch  of  his  letters. 

It  was  probably  Madame  Hanska's  sister  Pauline, 
Madame  Jean  Riznitch,  whose  servants  were  to  receive  a 
reward  from  a  rich  moujik  in  case  they  could  arrange  to 
have  him  see  Balzac.  This  moujik  was  a  great  admirer 
of  the  novelist,  had  read  all  his  books,  burnt  a  candle  to 
Saint  Nicholas  for  him  every  week,  and  was  anxious  to 
meet  him.  Since  Madame  Riznitch  lived  not  far  from 
Madame  Hanska,  he  hoped  to  see  Balzac  when  he  visited 
Wierzschownia. 

The  relative  whose  association  with  Balzac  seems  to 
have  caused  Madame  Hanska  the  most  discomfort  was 
her  cousin,  the  Countess  Marie  Potogka.  He  met  her 
when  he  visited  his  Chatelaine  in  Geneva,  where  the  Coun- 
tess Potocka  entertained  him,  and  after  his  return  to 
Paris,  he  called  on  Madame  Appony,  wife  of  the  Aus- 
trian ambassador,  to  deliver  a  letter  for  her.  Before  go- 
ing to  Geneva  he  had  heard  of  her,  and  had  confused  her 
identity  with  that  of  the  belle  Grecque  who  had  died  sev- 
eral years  before. 

During  his  visit  at  Geneva  the  novelist  deemed  it  wise 


276    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

to  explain  his  attentions  to  Madame  P :     "  It  would 

have  seemed  ridiculous  (to  the  others)  for  me  to  have 
occupied  myself  with  you  only.  I  was  bound  to  respect 
you,  and  in  order  to  talk  to  you  so  much,  it  was  necessary 

for  me  to  talk  to  Madame  P .     What  I  wrote  you  this 

morning  is  of  a  nature  to  show  you  how  false  are  your 
fears.  I  never  ceased  to  look  at  you  while  talking  to 

Madame  P ."  14 

After  his  return  to  Paris  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Madame 
P ,  and  was  careful  to  explain  this  also : 

"  Do  not  be  jealous  of  Madame  P 's  letter ;  that 

woman  must  be  for  us.  I  have  flattered  her,  and  I  want 
her  to  think  that  you  are  disdained.  .  .  .  My  enemies 
are  spreading  a  rumor  of  my  liaison  with  a  Russian 

princess;  they  name  Madame  P .  .  .  Oh!  my  love, 

I  swear  to  you  I  wrote  to  Madame  P only  to  prevent 

the  road  to  Russia  being  closed  to  me." 15 

He  received  a  letter  from  her  which  he  did  not  answer, 
for  he  wished  to  end  this  correspondence.  It  is  within  the 
bounds  of  possibility  that  Balzac  cared  more  for  the 
Countess  Potocka  than  he  admitted  to  his  "  Polar  Star," 
but  several  years  later,  when  she  became  avaricious,  he 
formed  an  aversion  to  her  and  warned  Madame  Hanska 
to  beware  of  her  cousin. 

14Lettres  a  l'£trangere,  v.  I,  p.  106,  January,  1834. 
15  Lettres  a  1'S.trangere,  v.  I,  pp.  135,  138,  February  22,  March  g, 
1834. 


CONCLUSION 

"  I  live  by  my  friendships  only." 1 

Many  people  write  their  romances,  others  live  them; 
Honore  de  Balzac  did  both.  This  life  so  full  of  romantic 
fiction  mingled  with  stern  reality,  where  the  burden  of 
debt  is  counter-balanced  by  dramatic  passion,  where  hal- 
lucination can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  fact,  where 
the  weary  traveler  is  ever  seeking  gold,  rest,  or  love,  ever 
longing  to  be  famous  and  to  be  loved,  where  the  hero,  se- 
cluded as  in  a  monastery,  suddenly  emerges  to  attend  an 
opera,  dressed  in  the  most  gaudy  attire,  where  he  lacks 
many  of  the  comforts  of  life,  yet  suddenly  crosses  half  the 
continent,  allured  by  the  fascinations  of  a  woman,  this  life 
is  indeed  a  roman  balzacien  par  excellence! 

He  tried  to  shroud  his  life,  especially  his  association 
with  women,  in  mystery.  Now  since  the  veil  is  partially 
lifted,  one  can  see  how  great  was  the  role  they  played.  It 
has  been  said  2  that  twelve  thousand  letters  were  written  to 
Balzac  by  women,  some  to  express  their  admiration,  some 
to  recognize  themselves  in  a  delightful  personage  he  had 
created,  others  to  thank  him  or  condemn  him  for  certain 
attitudes  he  had  sustained  towards  woman. 

For  him  to  have  so  thoroughly  understood  the  feminine 

1  Lettrcs  a  I'Strangere,  v.  i,  pp.  334-336,  June,  1836. 

2  De  Lovenjoul,   Une  Page  perdue  de  H.  de  Balzac,  pp.  308-310 
Chapter  by  Louis  Lurine. 

277 


278      WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

mind  and  temperament,  to  have  given  to  this  subtle 
chameleon  its  various  hues,  to  have  portrayed  woman  with 
her  many  charms  and  caprices,  and  to  have  described 
woman  in  her  various  classes  and  at  all  ages,  he  must  have 
observed  her,  or  rather,  he  must  have  known  her.  He 
very  justly  says  in  his  Avant-propos: 

"  When  Buffon  describes  the  lion,  he  dismisses  the 
lioness  with  a  few  phrases ;  but  in  society  the  wife  is  not 
always  the  female  of  the  male.  There  may  be  two  per- 
fectly dissimilar  beings  in  one  household.  The  wife  of 
a  shopkeeper  is  sometimes  worthy  of  a  prince,  and  the 
wife  of  a  prince  is  often  worthless  compared  with  the 
wife  of  an  artisan.  The  social  state  has  freaks  which 
are  not  found  in  the  natural  world;  it  is  nature  plus 
society.  The  description  of  the  social  species  would  thus 
be  at  least  double  that  of  the  animal  species,  merely  in 
view  of  the  two  sexes." 

Thus,  he  made  a  special  study  of  woman,  penetrated, 
like  a  father  confessor,  into  her  innermost  secrets,  and  if 
he  has  not  painted  the  duchesses  with  the  delicacy  due 
them,  it  was  not  because  he  did  not  know  or  had  not 
studied  them,  but  probably  because  he  was  picturing  them 
with  his  Rabelaisian  pen.3 

He  knew  many  women  who  were  active  during  the 
reign  of  Louis  XVI,  women  who  were  conspicuous  under 
the  Empire,  and  women  who  were  prominent  in  society 
during  the  Restoration,  hence,  one  would  naturally  expect 
to  find  traces  of  them  in  his  works. 

3  For  a  very  sharp  criticism  of  Balzac's  ability  to  portray  the 
woman  of  the  nobility,  see  fi.  Faguet,  Balzac,  and  for  an  equally  bitter 
reply  to  him,  see  Marcel  Barriere,  L'CEuvre  de  Balzac,  pp.  479-482. 


CONCLUSION  279 

But  it  is  not  only  this  type  of  woman  that  Balzac  has 
presented.  He  painted  the  bourgeoise  in  society,  as  seen 
in  the  daughters  of  Pere  Goriot,  and  many  others,  the  va- 
rious types  of  the  vieille  fille  such  as  Mademoiselle  Zephir- 
ine  Guenic  (Beatrix}  who  never  wished  to  marry,  Cousine 
Bette  who  failed  in  her  matrimonial  attempts,  and  Ma- 
dame Bousquier  (La  vieille  Fille}  who  finally  succeeded  in 
hers. 

The  working  class  is  represented  in  such  characters  as 
Madame  Remonencq  (Le  Cousin  Ports)  and  Madame 
Cardinal  (Les  petits  Bourgeois},  while  the  servant  class  is 
well  shown  in  the  person  of  the  grande  Nanon  (Eugenie 
Grandet},  the  faithful  Fanny  (La  Grenadiere},  and  many 
others.  As  has  been  seen,  there  is  a  trace  of  his  old 
servant,  Mere  Comin,  in  the  person  of  Madame  Vaillant 
(Facino  Cane},  and  Mere  Cognette  and  La  Rabouilleuse 
(La  Rabouilleuse}  are  said  to  be  people  he  met  while  vis- 
iting Madame  Carraud.  The  novelist  must  have  known 
many  such  women,  for  his  mother  and  sisters  had  serv- 
ants, and  in  the  homes  of  Madame  de  Berny,  Madame 
Carraud  and  Madame  de  Margonne,  he  certainly  knew  the 
servants,  not  to  mention  those  he  observed  at  the  cafes  and 
in  his  wanderings. 

Balzac  knew  several  young  girls  at  different  periods  of 
his  life.  His  sister  Laure  was  his  first  and  only  com- 
panion in  his  earlier  years,  and  he  knew  his  sister  Laur- 
ence especially  well  in  the  years  immediately  preceding  her 
marriage.  Madame  Carraud  was  a  schoolmate  of  Ma- 
dame Surville  and  visited  in  his  home  as  a  young  girl. 
He  was  not  only  acquainted  with  the  various  daughters 
of  Madame  de  Berny,  but  at  one  time  there  was  some 


280     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

prospect  of  his  marrying  Julie.  Josephine  and  Constance, 
daughters  of  Madame  d'Abrantes,  were  acquaintances  of 
his  during  their  early  womanhood.  He  must  have  known 
Mademoiselle  de  Trumilly  as  he  presented  himself  as  her 
suitor,  and  being  entertained  in  her  home  frequently, 
doubtless  saw  her  sisters  also.  Since  he  accompanied  his 
sister  to  balls  in  his  youth,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  he 
met  young  girls  there,  even  if  there  is  no  record  of  it. 

A  few  years  later  he  became  devoted  to  the  two  daugh- 
ters of  his  sister  Laure,  and  lived  in  her  home  for  a  short 
time.  He  knew  Madame  Hanska's  daughter  Anna  in  her 
childhood,  but  was  most  intimate  with  her  when  she  was 
about  twenty.  While  Madame  de  Girardin  was  not  so 
young,  he  met  her  several  years  before  her  marriage, 
called  her  Delphine,  and  regarded  her  somewhat  as  his 
pupil.  He  liked  Marie  de  Montheau  and  her  mother, 
Camille  Delannoy,  who  was  a  friend  of  his  sister  Laure 
and  the  daughter  of  the  family  friend,  Madame  Delannoy. 
Though  not  intimate  with  her,  he  met  and  observed  Eu- 
genie, the  daughter  of  Madame  de  Bolognini  at  Milan,  and 
probably  was  acquainted  with  Inez  and  Hyacinthe,  the 
two  daughters  of  Madame  Desbordes-Valmore. 

In  his  various  works,  he  has  portrayed  quite  a  number 
of  young  girls  varying  greatly  in  rank  and  temperament, 
among  the  most  prominent  being  Marguerite  Clae's  (La 
Recherche  de  I'Absolu),  noted  for  her  ability  and  her 
strength  of  character,  headstrong  and  much  petted  Emilie 
de  Fontaine  (Le  Bal  de  Sceaux},  Laurence  de  Cinq- 
Cygne,  the  very  zealous  Royalist  (Une  tenebreuse  Af- 
faire}, romantic  Modeste  Mignon,  pitiable  Pierrette  Lor- 
rain,  dutiful  and  devout  Ursule  Mirouet,  unfortunate  Fos- 


CONCLUSION  281 

sense  (Le  Medecin  de  Campagne),  bold  and  unhappy  Ros- 
alie de  Watteville  (Albert  Savarus},  and  the  well-known 
Eugenie  Grandet. 

The  novelist  has  revealed  to  us  that  he  modeled  one  of 
these  heroines  on  a  combination  of  the  woman  who  later 
became  his  wife,  and  her  cousin,  a  most  charming  woman. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  some  if  not  all  of  the  other  hero- 
ines would  be  found  to  have  equally  interesting  sources, 
could  they  be  discovered. 

Concerning  the  much  discussed  question  as  to  whether 
Balzac  portrayed  young  girls  well,  M.  Marcel  Barriere  re- 
marks : 

"  There  are  critics  stupid  enough  to  say  that  Balzac 
knew  nothing  of  the  art  of  painting  young  girls;  they 
make  use  of  the  inelegant,  unpolished  word  rate  to 
qualify  his  portraits  of  this  genre.  To  be  sure,  Balzac's 
triumph  is,  we  admit,  in  his  portraits  of  mothers  or  pas- 
sionate women  who  know  life.  Certain  authors,  with- 
out counting  George  Sand,  have  given  us  sketches  of 
young  girls  far  superior  to  Balzac's,  but  that  is  no  reason 
for  scoffing  in  so  impertinent  a  manner  at  the  author  of 
the  Comedie  humaine,  when  his  unquestionable  glory 
ought  to  silence  similar  pamphletistic  criticisms.  We  ad- 
vise those  who  reproach  Balzac  for  not  having  under- 
stood the  simplicity,  modesty  and  graces  so  full  of  charm, 
or  often  the  artifice  of  the  young  girl,  to  please  reread 
in  the  Scenes  de  la  Vie  privee  the  portraits  of  Louise  de 
Chaulieu,  Renee  de  Maucombe,  Modeste  Mignon,  Julie 
de  Chatillonest,  Honorine  de  Beauvan,  Mademoiselle 
Guillaume,  fimilie  de  Fontaine,  Mademoiselle  fivangel- 
ista,  Adelaide  du  Rouvre,  Ginevra  di  Piombo,  etc.,  with- 
out mentioning,  in  the  other  Scenes,  Eugenie  Grandet, 


282     .WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

five  Sechard,  Pierrette  Lorrain,  Ursule  Mirouet,  Mesde- 
moiselles  Birotteau,  Hulot  d'Ervy,  de  Cinq-Cygne,  La  Fos- 
seuse,  Marguerite  Claes,  Juana  de  Mancini,  Pauline 
Gaudin,  and  I  hope  they  will  keep  silence,  otherwise  they 
will  cause  us  to  question  their  good  sense  of  criticism."  * 

Balzac  said  it  would  require  a  Raphael  to  create  so 
many  virgins;  accordingly,  from  time  to  time  the  type  of 
woman  of  the  other  extreme  is  also  seen.  She  is  por- 
trayed in  the  grande  dame  and  in  the  courtisane,  that  is,  at 
the  top  and  the  bottom  of  the  social  ladder.  On  the  one 
side  are  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan,  the  Comtesse  de  Ser- 
iby,  etc.,  while  on  the  other  are  Esther  Gobseck,  Valerie 
Marneffe,  and  others.  Some  of  the  novelist's  most  strik- 
ing antitheses  were  attained  by  placing  these  horrible  crea- 
tures by  the  side  of  his  noblest  and  purest  creations. 

In  his  Avanl-propos,  he  criticized  Walter  Scott  for  hav- 
ing portrayed  his  women  as  Protestants,  saying :  "  In  Pro- 
testantism there  is  no  possible  future  for  the  woman  who 
has  sinned ;  while,  in  the  Catholic  Church,  the  hope  of  for- 
giveness makes  her  sublime.  Hence,  for  the  Protestant 
writer  there  is  but  one  woman,  while  the  Catholic  writer 
finds  a  new  woman  in  each  new  situation."  Naturally, 
most  of  the  women  of  the  Comedie  humaine  are  Catholic, 
but  among  the  exceptions  is  Madame  Jeanrenaud  (L' In- 
terdiction), who  is  a  Protestant;  Josepha  Mirah  and  Es- 
ther Gobseck  are  of  Jewish  origin.  In  portraying  vari- 
ous women  as  Catholics,  convent  life  for  the  young  girl  is 
seen  in  Memoir es  de  deux  jeunes  mariees,  and  for  the 
woman  weary  of  society,  in  La  Duchesse  de  Langeais. 
Extreme  piety  is  shown  in  Madame  de  Granville  (Une 
4  L'CEuvre  de  Balzac,  p.  38. 


CONCLUSION  283 

double  Famille),  and  Madame  Graslin  devoted  herself  to 
charity  to  atone  for  her  crime. 

Various  pictures  are  given  of  woman  in  the  home. 
Ideal  happiness  is  portrayed  in  the  life  of  Madame  Cesar 
Birotteau.  Madame  Grandet,  Madame  Hulot  (La  Con- 
sine  Bette),  and  Madame  Claes  (La  Recherche  de  I'Ab- 
solu)  were  martyrs  to  their  husbands,  while  Madame 
Serizy  made  a  martyr  of  hers.  Beautiful  motherhood  is 
often  seen,  as  in  Madame  Sauviat  (Le  Cure  de  Village}, 
yet  some  of  the  mothers  in  Balzac  are  most  heartless.  A 
few  professions  among  women  are  represented,  actresses, 
artists,  musicians  and  dancers  being  prominent  in  some  of 
the  stories. 

It  is  quite  possible  and  even  probable  that  Balzac  pic- 
tured many  more  women  whom  he  knew  in  real  life  than 
have  been  mentioned  here,  and  these  may  yet  be  traced. 
For  obvious  reasons,  he  avoided  exact  portraiture,  yet 
in  a  few  instances  he  indulged  in  it,  notably  in  the  sketch 
of  George  Sand  as  Mademoiselle  des  Touches.  And  lest 
one  might  not  recognize  the  appearance  of  Madame  Mer- 
lin as  Madame  Schontz  (Beatrix),  he  boldly  made  her 
name  public. 

In  presenting  the  women  whom  we  know,  the  novelist 
was  usually  consistent.  As  has  been  seen,  he  regarded 
the  home  of  Madame  Carraud  at  Frapesle  as  a  haven  of 
rest,  and  went  there  like  a  wood-pigeon  regaining  its  nest. 
The  suffering  Felix  de  Vandenesse  (Le  Lys  dans  la  Val- 
lee)  could  not,  therefore,  find  calm  until  he  went  to  the 
chateau  de  Frapesle  to  recuperate.  The  novelist  could 
easily  give  this  minute  description  of  Frapesle  with  its 
towers,  as  well  as  the  chateau  de  Sache,  the  home  of  M.  de 


284    WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

Margonne,  having  spent  so  much  of  his  time  at  both  of 
these  places. 

The  reader,  having  seen  in  the  early  pages  of  this  book, 
Balzac's  relation  to  his  mother, —  in  case  Felix  de  Van- 
denesse  represents  Balzac  himself  —  is  not  surprised  to 
learn  that  the  mother  of  Felix  was  cold  and  tyrannical, 
indifferent  to  his  happiness,  that  he  had  but  little  or  no 
money  to  spend,  that  his  brother  was  the  favorite,  that 
he  was  sent  away  to  school  early  in  life  and  remained  there 
eight  years,  that  his  mother  often  reproached  him  and  re- 
pressed his  tenderness,  and  that  to  escape  all  contact  with 
her  he  buried  himself  in  reading. 

Felix  was  in  this  unhappy  state  when  he  met  Madame 
de  Mortsauf,  whose  shoulders  he  kissed  suddenly,  and 
whose  love  for  him  later  made  him  forget  the  miseries  of 
childhood ;  in  the  same  manner,  Balzac  made  his  first  dec- 
laration to  Madame  de  Berny.  Madame  de  Mortsauf 
could  easily  be  Madame  de  Berny  with  all  her  tenderness 
and  sympathy,  or  she  could  be  Madame  Hanska.  The  in- 
tense maternal  love  of  the  heroine  could  represent  either, 
but  especially  the  later.  M.  de  Mortsauf  could  be  either 
M.  de  Berny  or  M.  de  Hanski.  Balzac  left  Madame  de 
Berny  and  became  enraptured  with  Madame  de  Castries, 
and  had  had  a  similar  infatuation  for  Madame  d'Abran- 
tes,  just  as  Felix  made  Madame  de  Mortsauf  jealous  by 
his  devotion  to  Lady  Arabelle  Dudley.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  Madame  Hanska  was  suspicious  of  Balzac's  re- 
lations with  an  English  lady,  Countess  Visconti,  although 
the  novelist  states  that  he  had  written  this  work  before  he 
knew  Madame  Visconti.  The  novelist  has  doubtless  com- 
bined traits  of  various  women  in  a  single  character,  but 


CONCLUSION  285 

the  fact  still  remains  that  he  was  depicting  life  as  he  knew 
it,  even  if  he  did  not  attempt  exact  portraiture. 

While  the  famous  Vicomtesse  de  Beauseant  (La 
Femme  abandonnee}  has  many  characteristics  of  the 
Duchesse  d'Abrantes,  and  some  of  those  of  the  Duchesse 
de  Castries,  she  has  also  some  of  those  of  Madame  de 
Berny,  and  La  Femme  abandonnee  was  written  the  year 
Balzac  severed  his  relations  with  his  Dilecta.  But  it  is 
especially  in  the  gentleness  and  patience  portrayed  in 
Madame  Firmiami,  in  the  affection  and  self -sacrifice  of 
Pauline  de  Villenoix  for  Louis  Lambert,  and  the  devotion 
of  Pauline  Gaudin  to  Raphael  in  La  Peau  de  Chagrin  that 
Madame  de  Berny  is  most  strikingly  represented.  She 
was  all  this  and  more  to  Balzac.  Furthermore,  he  may 
have  obtained  from  her  his  historical  color  for  Un  Epi- 
sode sous  la  Terreur,  just  as  he  was  influenced  by  Madame 
Junot  in  writing  stories  of  the  Empire  and  Corsican  ven- 
geance. 

It  was  perhaps  to  avoid  recognition  of  the  heroine  and 
to  revenge  himself  on  Madame  de  Castries  that  he  made 
the  Duchesse  de  Langeais  enter  a  convent  and  die,  after 
her  failure  to  master  the  Marquis  de  Montriveau,  while 
for  his  part  the  hero  soon  forgot  her. 

Soon  after  introducing  Madame  de  Mortsauf  (Le  Lys 
dans  la  Vallee},  Balzac  compares  her  to  the  fragant 
heather  gathered  on  returning  from  the  Villa  Diodati. 
After  studying  carefully  his  long  period  of  association 
with  Madame  Hanska,  one  can  see  the  importance  which 
the  Villa  Diodati  had  in  his  life.  This  is  only  another  in- 
cident, small  though  it  be,  showing  how  this  woman  im- 
pressed herself  so  deeply  on  the  novelist  that  almost  un- 


286     WOMEN  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  BALZAC 

consciously  he  brought  memories  of  his  Predilecta  into 
his  work.  It  has  been  shown  that  she  served  as  a  model 
for  some  of  his  most  attractive  heroines ;  was  honored,  un- 
der different  names,  with  the  dedication  of  three  works, 
besides  the  one  dedicated  to  her  daughter ;  and  was  the  or- 
iginator of  one  of  his  most  popular  novels  for  young  girls, 
while  many  traces  of  herself  and  her  family  connections 
are  found  throughout  the  whole  Comedie  humaine. 

Though  by  far  the  most  important  of  them  all,  she  was 
only  one  of  the  many  etr  anger  es  he  knew.  As  has  been 
observed,  he  knew  women  of  Russia,  Poland,  Germany, 
Austria,  England,  Italy  and  Spain,  and  had  traveled  in 
most  of  these  countries ;  hence  one  is  not  surprised  at  the 
large  number  of  foreign  women  who  have  appeared  in  his 
work.  Among  the  most  noted  of  these  are  Lady  Brandon 
(La  Grenadiere)  ;  Lady  Dudley  (Le  Lys  dans  la  Vallee}  \ 
Madame  Varese  (Massimilla  Doni)  ;  la  Duchesse  de  Rhe- 
tore  (Albert  Savarus~),  who  was  in  reality  Madame  Han- 
ska,  although  presented  as  being  Italian;  Madame  Claes 
(La  Recherche  de  I'Absolu},  of  Spanish  origin  though 
born  in  Brussels;  Paquita  Valdes  (La  Fille  aux  Yeux 
d'Or)  ;  and  the  Corsican  Madame  Luigi  Porta  (La  Ven- 
detta). 

In  regard  to  Balzac's  various  women  friends,  J.  W. 
Sherer  has  very  appropriately  observed :  "  And  the  man 
was  worthy  of  them :  the  student  of  his  work  knows  what 
a  head  he  had;  the  student  of  his  life,  what  a  heart."  5 

6  The  Female  Friends  of  Balzac,  The  Gentleman's  Magazine,  v. 
266,  p.  125;  1889. 


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Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  Vte.  de.     Les  Etudes  philoso- 

phiques  de  Honore  de  Balzac.    Revue  d'histoire  lit- 

teraire  de  la  France,  1907,  p.  393-441. 
Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  Vte.  de.     Une  Page  perdue  de  H. 

de  Balzac;  notes  et  documents.     Paris.     Librairie  Paul 

Ollendorff.     1903. 
Spoelberch  de  Lovenjoul,  Vte.  de.     Un  Roman  d' amour. 

Paris.     Calmann-Levy.     1896. 

Stendhal   (Henry  Beyle).     Correspondance  inedite.    Pre- 
cede d'une  Introduction  par  Prosper  Merimee.     Michel 

Levy  Freres.     Paris.     1855. 
Stern,     Daniel     (Madame     d'Agoult).     Mes    Souvenirs. 

Paris.     Calmann-Levy.     1877. 
Summer,   Mary.    La  Derniere   des  Muscadines  Madame 

Hamelin.    la  Grande  revue,  1900,  p.  177-195. 
Surville,  Mme  L.  (nee  de  Balzac).    Balzac  sa  vie  et  ses 

ceuvres  d'apres  sa  correspondance.     Paris.    Jaccottet, 

Bourdilliat  et  Cie.     1858. 

Surville,  Mme  L.     The  Correspondence  of  Honore  de  Bal- 
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Translated    by    C.   Lamb   Kenny,    v.   i,   2.     London. 

Richard  Bently  and  Son.     1878. 


Taine,    Hippolyte    Adolphe.    Balzac    A    Critical    Study. 

Translated  by  Lorenzo  O'Rourke.     Funk  and  Wagnall's 

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Thouvenin,   Georges.     La   Genese  d'un  roman  de  Balzac 

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3o4  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Trent,  W.  P.  Some  Recent  Balzac  Literature.  The  Inter- 
national Monthly,  1900,  March,  p.  309-322. 

Trent,  W.  P.  Studies  of  Great  Authors  —  Honore  de  Bal- 
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Clure  Company.  1899. 

Turquan,  Joseph.  La  General  Junot  Duchesse  d'Abrantes 
(1784-1838)  d'apres  ses  lettres,  ses  papiers  et  son  Jour- 
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Tuttle,  A.  N.  The  Moral  Influence  of  Balzac.  The  Uni- 
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Une  Vieille  Saint-Simonienne.  Les  Academies  de  femmes 
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P-  558-574- 

Uzane,  Octave.  Les  Zigszags  d'un  curieux  a  trovers 
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Veron,  L.  Memoir es  d'un  bourgeois  de  Paris,  v.  6. 
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Walker,  H.  H.  The  Comedie  humaine  and  its  Author. 
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Warren,  F.  M.  Ten  Frenchmen  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 
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Wedmore,  Frederick.  Life  of  Honore  de  Balzac.  Lon- 
don. Walter  Scott.  1890. 

Wedmore,  Frederick.  Balzac  and  Others.  The  Book- 
Lover,  1899,  p.  268,  269. 

Wedmore,  Frederick.  Balzac's  Short  Stories.  The  Nine- 
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Wordet,  Edmond.  Portrait  intime  de  Balzac.  Paris.  E. 
Dentu.  1859. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  305 

Werdet,  Edmond.  Souvenirs  de  la  vie  litteraire  H.  de  Bal- 
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Westrum,  A.  S.  van.  Lettres  a  I'Etrangere.  The  Critic, 
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Willcocks,  M.  P.  Balzac.  The  Nation,  1920,  March  20- 
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Wormeley,  Katharine  Prescott.  The  Personal  Opinions 
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Zimmern,  Helen  and  Alice.  Half-hours  with  Foreign 
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The  Love  Affairs  of  Hugo  and  Balzac.  Current  Litera- 
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486-509. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abrantes,  Alfred  d',  93 
Abrantes,  Constance  d',  93,  280 
Abrantes,    Duchesse    d',    n,    26, 

93-110,  209,  280,  284,  285 
Abrantes,  Josephine  d',  93,   104, 

280 

Abrantes,  Napoleon  d',  93,  107 
Academies  de  Femmes  en  France, 

Les,  in,  148 

Academy,  French,  20,  86,  143 
Agotilt,    Comtesse   d',    no,    115- 

116,  120,  139,  151,  159 
Aiglemont,  Madame  d',  95,  174 
Aix,   13,   149,   184,   185,   186,  187, 

195 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  240 
Ajaccio,  121 
Ajuda-Pinto,  174 
Albert  Savarus,  86,  228,  230,  231, 

281,  286 
Allori,  153 
Almae  Soron,  see  Madame  de 

Surville 
Almanack    des    25,000    adr esses, 

166 

Amour  masque,  L',  134 
Anatole,  72 
Anchise,  75 

Angouleme,  61,  66,  68,  185 
Angouleme,  Duchesse  d',  169 
Antilles,  89 
Appony,  Comte,  134 
Appony,    Comtesse   129,   134-135, 

275 


Argaiolo,  Due  d',  see  Prince 
Gandolphini 

Argaiolo,  Duchesse  d',  see  Prin- 
cess Gandolphini 

Assonvillez,  M.  d',  9 

Aubert,  Madame,  100 

Auteuil,  77 

Autre  Etude  de  Femme,  109 

Avant-Propos,  87,  103,  282 

Avray,  Ville  d',  97 

Azay,  Blanche  d',  129 


Bac,  Rue  du,  77 

Baden,  16,  244 

Bagration,  Princesse,  II,  129, 
IS3-I54 

Bal  de  Sceaux,  Le,  280 

Balthazar,  233 

Balzac,  Henri  de,  5,  8,  24,  167 

Balzac,  Laure  de,  see  Madame 
Surville 

Balzac,  Laurentia  de,  see  Ma- 
dame de  Montzaigle 

Balzac,  Madame  de,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 
12,  19,  21-38,  42,  52,  54,  63, 
250,  257,  264,  284 

Balzac,  M.  de,  5,  6,  52 

Balzac,  Rue,  75 

Barnier,  Madame,  26 

Bartolini,  15,  221 

Batailles,  Rue  des,  no 

Bayeux,  7,  39 

Beam,  143 


309 


310 


INDEX 


Beatrix,  15,  103,  115,  120,  139, 
140,  141,  142,  143,  149,  174,  279, 
283 

Beau j  on  Park,  75 

Beauseant,  Madame  de,  105,  106, 

174,  285 

Beauvan,  Honorine  de,  281 
Bechet,  Madame,  14,  125-129 
Belgiojoso,  Maria,  in 
Belgiojoso,  Prince,  HI 
Belgiojoso,     Princesse,     110-113, 

115,  148,  150,  238 
Benassis,  Dr.,  197,  198,  208 
Beranger,  125,  128 
Berditcheff,  36,  257 
Beresina,  109 
Berlin,  133,  234,  240 
Bernard,  Madame  de,  129,  135 
Bernard,  M.  de,  135,  207 
Berny,   Alexandre   de,    167,    171, 

176,  177,  179 

Berny,  Armand  de,  176,  177 
Berny,   Madame  de,  6,  8,  9,  14, 

3i,  53,  64,  97,  98,  99,  107,  137, 

162,  164-182,  188,  205,  208,  217, 

279,  284 
Berny,   M.    de,   8,   52,    165,    167, 

168,  176,  228,  284,  285 
Berry,  Duchesse  de,  182 
Besangon,  207 
Bethmanns,  115 
Bianchon,  Dr.,  263 
Birotteau,  L'Abbe,  69,  78 
Birotteau,  Madame,  283 
Birotteau,  Miles,  282 
Bocage,  120 
Bocarme,    Madame   de,   55,    145, 

146-147 
Bolognini,    Comtesse,     145,    152, 

153,  280 


Bolognini,  Eugenie,  152,  280 

Bordeaux,  Duke  de,  xxi 

Borel,  Mile,  17,  55,  198,  206,  242, 

269-272 

Bossi,  Comtesse,  153,  154 
Boulanger,  15,  153,  154,  220 
Bouleauniere,  La,  137 
Bouniol,  Miles,  142 
Bouriau,  Rue  du,  70 
Bourse,  La,  145 
Bousquier,  Madame,  279 
Brandon,  Lady,  286 
Bresson,  Comte,  133 
Bresson,  Comtesse,  133 
Briere,  Ernest  de  la,  237 
Brissot-Thivars,  128 
Brittany,   10 
Brugnolle,   Madame  de,    16,   51- 

52,  54-55,  M7,  271 
Brune,  Claire,  see  Madame  Mar- 

bouty 

Brunetiere,  xxx 
Brussels,  17,  88,  244,  286 
Buffon,  277 
Buloz,  14 

Burgaud,  Madame,  142 
Bury,  55,  147 
Byron,  Lord,  230,  258 

Cadignan,  Princesse  de,  282 

Cador,  Edmond,  143 

Cajetani,  M.,  274 

Campan,  Madame,  174 

Campi,  177 

Canalis,  237 

Canne   de   Monsieur   de   Balzac, 

La,  82 
Cara,  Sorella,  see  Madame  Sur- 

ville 
Caroline,  see  Madame  Marbouty 


INDEX 


Carraud,  Madame,  6,  10,  31,  59- 

71,  98,  114,  178,  205,  237,  279, 

283 

Carraud,  M.,  60,  63,  66 
Cassini,  Rue  de,  10,  25,  116 
Castries,  Duchesse  de,  12,  13,  31, 

63,  64,  74,  80,  97,  99,  103,  154, 

169,  172,  182-196,  198,  205,  208, 

217,  230,  284,  285 
Catherine,  174 
Catherine,  100 
Catherine,  Empress,  210 
Celeste,  Mile,  216 
Cesar  Birotteau,  69 
Chaillot,  Rue  de,  no 
Chalons,  18,  245 

Champs-filysees,  Les,  77,  86,  138 
Chanterie,  Madame  de  la,  232 
Chardon,      Eve,      see     Madame 

Sechard 

Chardon,  Le,  58 
Chardon,  Lucien,  107 
Charles  II,  243 
Charles  X,  184 
Chateaubriand,  74 
Chatelaine,  see  Madame  Hanska 
Chatillonest,  Julie  de,  281 
Chaulieu,  Louise  de,  281 
Cherkowitsch,  Madame,  198,  203, 

275 

Cheval  Rouge,  15 
Chlendowska,  Comtesse,  147 
Chopin,  156 

Chouans,  Les,  10,  11,  57,  166,  197 
Chronique  de  Paris,  14,  128 
Ciechanowiecki,  M.,  204 
Ciechanowiecki,  Madame,  204 
Cinq-Cygne,    Laurence    de,    280, 

282 
Cite,  Rue  de  la,  71 


Cite-Valette,  142 

Claes,  Balthasar,  173,  174 

Claes,  Madame,  174,  283,  286 

Claes,  Marguerite,  173,  280,  282 

Clement  de  Ris,  Senator,  108 

Closmadeuc,  Dr.,  143 

Cognet,  Pere,  69 

Cognettc,  La,  69,  70,  279 

Cologne,  234 

Cologny,  230 

Colonel  Chabert,  Le,  109,  147 

Colonna,  Francesca,  see  Prin- 
cesse  Gandolphini 

Come  die  humaine,  17,  20,  69,  78, 
87,  88,  103,  107,  114,  115,  123, 
147,  154,  158,  160,  174,  196, 
207,  226,  227,  229,  253,  263,  286 

Comin,  Madame,  23,  279,  281, 
282 

Commandant  Piston,  see  M.  Car- 
raud 

Conciliator -e,  no 

Constance-Victoire,  see  Madame 
Hanska 

Constant,  Benjamin,  xxxii 

Constantinople,  121 

Contes  Drolatiques,  xxxi,  117, 
129 

Contrat  de  Manage,  Le,  127,  131 

Correggio,  153 

Corsica,  15,  63,  99,  137,  154,  211 

Cor  so,  153 

Cousine  Bette,  La,  36,  92,  247, 
279,  283 

Cousin  Pans,  Le,  247,  279 

Cromwell,  7,  39,  92 

Cure  de  Tours,  Le,  175 

Cure  de  Village,  Le,  71,  160,  173, 
194,  283 

Custine,  M.  de,  147 


312 


INDEX 


Czarouski,  Comte  Abbe,  37,  257 


D.,  Madame,  29 

Daffinger,  43,  218,  220,  235 

Dash,  Comtesse,  103 

Daudet,  Ernest,  204 

Dauriat,  78 

David  d'Angers,  136 

David,  Madame,  129,  136 

Debut  dans  la  vie,  Un,  40 

Delannoy,  Camille,  57,  280 

Delannoy,    Madame,    51,    55-57, 

280 

Delloye,  223 

Democratic  Pacifique,  1 12 
Derniere  fee,  La,  174 
Desbordes-Valmore,        Madame, 

ii,  72,  88-91,  280 
Deux  Pottes,  Les,  66 
Deux  Rencontres,  Les,  40 
Deveria,  173 
Dictionnaire  de  la  Conversation, 

138 
Dilecta,    La,    see    Madame    de 

Berny 

Dino,  Duchesse  de,  129,  132-134 
Diodati,  229,  230,  285 
Dorval,   Madame,  72,  90,  92,  93, 

120,  159 
Douai,  92 

Double  Famille,  Une,  146,  283 
Drame  au  Bord  de  la  Mer,  Un, 

148 
Dresden,   17,  234,  240,  241,  242, 

243,  244,  245,  246,  259,  260 
Duchambye,  Madame,  90 
Duchesse  de  Langeais,  La,  174, 

191,  192,  282 
Duckett,  William,  138 


Dudevant,   Madame,  see  George 

Sand 

Dudley,  Lady,  107,  217,  284,  286 
Duhamel,    Madame,   33,   38,   46- 

51,  280 

Duhamel,  Louis,  51 
Duhamel,  Surville,  51 
Dumas,  117 
Dupotet,  M.,  77 
Duras,  Due  de,  130 

£cole  des  Journalistes,  L',  85 

£cole  des  Menages,  L',  114,  122 

Elizabeth,  Madame,  274 

Employes,  Les,  152 

Enfant  Maudit,  L',  150 

Enfer,  Rue  d',  272 

Episode  sous  la  terreur,  Un,  166, 
285 

Essling,  213 

Ztrangere,  L',  see  Madame  Han- 
ska 

Esterhazy,  Prince,  135,  204 

£tudes  de  Femmes,  78 

Etudes  de  Mceurs,  125,  146 

Etudes  Philosophiques,  56 

Eugenie  Grandet,  156,  157,  158, 
159,  211,  279 

Evelina,  198,  208 

Everat,  102 

Expiation,  L',  175,  205 

Facino  Cane,  23,  163,  279 

Fanny,  279 

Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  12,  97, 

184,   189,  192,  193,  197,  209 
Fausse  Maitresse,  La    152,  229, 

238 
Fausse  Position,  Une,  115 


INDEX 


313 


Femme  abandonnee,  La,  69,  102, 

105,  106,  107,  174,  285 
Femme  de  Trente  Ans,  La,  40, 

95,  96,  109,  167,   174,  175,  205, 

285 

Femme  Superieure,  La,  43 
Ferraud,  M.,  57 
Fessart,  M.,  24,  25 
Fiennes,  M.  de,  263 
Fille  aux  Yeux  d'Or,  La,  286 
Fille  d'Eve,  Une,  152 
Firmiami,  Madame,  170,  171,  285 
Fitz-James,  Due  de,  12,  130,  168, 

185,  186 

Fleur-des-Pois,  127 
Flore,  168 

Florence,  189,  212,  221 
Foedora,  129,  130,  154 
Fontaine,  Emilie  de,  280,  281 
Fontainebleau,  72,  74,  155 
Fontenay,  Madame  de,  83 
Forbach,  247,  248 
Fortunee,  Rue,  xiii,  18,  33,  37,  75, 

87,  202,  248,  250,  251,  254,  260 
Fosseuse,  La,  135,  213,  280,  282 
Fouche,  108 
Fougere,  57 
Frankfort,  55,  115,  240,  242,  247, 

259 
Frapesle,  10,  64,  65,  68,  179,  283 

Gail,  Madame  Sophie,  72 

Gaillon,  Rue,  73 

Galitzin    de    Genthol,    Princesse, 

145,  149 

Gallo,  Le,  141,  143 
Gandolphini,   Prince,  229,  231 
Gandolphini,  Princesse,  229,  231, 

286 
Garde  Nationale,  15 


Garre,  Madame,  72 

Garre,  Theodore,  72 

Gaudin,  Pauline,  172,  282,  285 

Gaudissart  II,  112 

Gautier,  Theophile,  xv,  14,  15,  76, 

77,  84,  85,  122,  179 
Gavault,  55,  144 
Gay,   Delphine,  see  Madame  de 

Girardin 
Gay,  Madame  Sophie,  n,  72-75, 

77,  79,  80,  81,  86,  89,  97,  105, 

108 

Gazette,  204 

Gazette  de  Franche-Comte,  135 
Geneva,    13,    149,    154,    186,    187, 

190,  191,  208,  210,  211,  212,  219, 

220,  226,  229,  234,  255,  265,  269, 

275 

Gentil,  Dr.,  128 

Genoa,  15 

Genthod,  149 

Georges,  Mile,  93 

Gerard,  Baron,  no,  136 

Gerard,  Madame,  129,  136 

Gerard-Seguin,  139 

Gertrude,     tragedie     bourgeoise, 

92 

Gigoux,  262 
Girardin,    fimile   de,   72,   75,  77, 

80,  81,  82,  84,  85,  87,  115 
Girardin,  Madame  de,  n,  72,  75- 

88,  in,  148,  240,  280 
Gobseck,  Esther,  282 
Goriot,  Pere,  263,  279 
Gosselin,  83,  128,  200 
Gougeon,         Jean-Marie-Angele, 

141,  142 

Gozlan,  Leon,  15,  128 
Grande  Mademoiselle,  La,  93 
Grandet,  Eugenie,  156,  243,  281 


INDEX 


Grandet,  Madame,  283 

Grandet,  Pere,  158 

Grand    Homme    de   Province   a 

Paris,  Une,  107 
Granville,  Madame  de,  282 
Graslin,  Madame,  263,  283 
Grenadier e,  La,  69,  114,  115,  273, 

279,  286 
Guadeloupe,  74 
Guenic,  Calyste  de,  102,  174 
Guenic,  Mile,  de,  279 
Guerande,  15,  142 
Guillaume,  Mile,  281 
Guillonnet-Marville,  M.  de,  6 

Hahn,  Mile,  88,  135 

Hamburg,  115 

Hamelin,  M.,  75 

Hamelin,     Madame,     1 1,    72-75, 

105,  108,  154,  155 
Hanotaux  et  Vicaire,  25,  167,  261 
Hanska,     Anna,     see     Comtesse 

Mniszech 

Hanski,  M.  de,  17,  156,  204,  206, 
207,  212,  213,  214,  218,  221, 
224,  226,  228,  230,  231,  249,  265, 
267,  269,  272,  273,  274,  284 

Hanska,  Madame,  xiii,  xv,  12,  13, 
15,  17,  18,  19,  25,  31,  34,  36,  42, 
43,  44,  45,  55,  66,  67,  69,  75,  81, 
83,  84,  86,  87,  88,  91,  93,  98,  99, 

106,  112,   114,  Il6,   Il8,  121,  122, 
123,   132,   137,   139,  143,  144,   146, 
147,   148,   149,  152,   154,  155,   156, 

158,  160,  175,  176,  177,  178,  179, 
184,  187,  188,  189,  190,  191,  196, 
197,  198,  264,  265,  266,  268,  270, 
271,  272,  273,  275,  276,  280,  284, 
285,  286 
Havana,  148 


Helene,  156,  159-161,  204 

Henri  IV,  235 

Heritiere  de  Birague,  L',  52 

Hilks,  140 

Hinner,  M.,  165 

Hofer,  Andreas,  146 

Homme  d' Affaires,  Un,  156 

Hostein,  92 

Houssard,  Madame,  69 

Hugo,  Victor,  xxii,  77,  116,  262 

Huguenots,  Les,  113 

Hulot,  d'Ervy,  Mile,  282 

Hulot,  Madame,  283 

Illusions  Perdues,  Les,  66,   128, 

129,  174 
Illustre  Gaudissart,  L',  177,  191, 

220 
Imitation    de    Jesus-Christ,    L', 

215 

Imprudence  et  Bonheur,  134 
Indiana,  116 
Ischl,  218 
Issoudun,  69,  70,  71,  123 

Jacquillard,  Madame  see  Ma- 
dame Bechet 

Janin,  M.,  194 

Jardies,  Les,  16,  31,  32,  98,  138, 
143,  147,  221,  239 

Jar j  ayes,  Francois  -  Augustin 
Reiner  de,  165 

Jarjayes,  Madame,  165 

Jeanrenaud,  Madame,  282 

Jesus-Christ  en  Flandres,  92 

Jitomir,  Bishop  of,  36 

Juana,  148 

Juana  Loca,  in 

Judith,  130,  131 

Julie,  177,  280 


INDEX 


Jung,  Mile,  51 

Junot,    Madame,    see    Duchesse 

d'Abrantes 
Junot,    Marechal,    93,    108,    109, 

no 

Kicka,  Comtesse,  228 
Kieff,  253,  255,  256,  258 
Kisseleff,   Madame,   153,   155 
Knothe,  Dr.,  252,  260,  263 
Kozlowska,  Mile,  136,  144-145 
Kozlowski,  Prince,  144 

Laborde,    Madame    Quelpec    de, 

see  Madame  Jar j  ayes 
Lacressoniere,  Madame,  92 
Lacroix,  Edouard,  83 
Lacroix,  Jules,  203 
Lacroix,  Paul,  83 
Laffitte,  Rue,  77 
La  Fontaine,  7,  9,  220 
Laginska,  Comtesse,  238 
Lamartine,  77,  78,  79 
Lambert,  Louis,  198,  285 
Lammennais,  118 
Lamoignon  -  Lavalette,  Madame 

de,  142 
Langeais,  Duchesse  de,  174,  191, 

285 

La  Palferine,  107 
Larrey,  Baron,  143 
Lassailly,  78 
Latakia,  121,  122 
Latin  Quarter,  5 
Latouche,  Henri  de,  116,  128 
Latour,  Antoine  de,  89 
Laurent  et  Balzac,  167 
Lecou,  223 
Leszczinska,   Queen   Marie,   xxi, 

209,  257 


Leipsic,  240 

Lenormand,  Mile,  53 

Leonine  de  Monbreuse,  J2 

Lepitre,  M.,  5 

Lesdiguieres,  Rue,  6,  23,  254 

Levavasseur,  80 

Lieven,  Princesse  de,  133 

Liline,  see  Madame  Hanska  - 

Lille,  89 

Limoges,  71,  114 

Line,  see  Madame  Hanska 

Lirette,  see  Mile   Borel 

Liszt,   49,  115,  120,  i$&  267 

London,  106 

Lorrain,  Pierette,  263,  280,  289 

Louis  XVI,  165,  278 

Louis  XVIII,  165 

Louis  Lambert,  23,  68,  171,  173, 

198,  285 

Louis-Philippe,  43,  134 
Louise,  15,  156,  161-163 
Louloup,  see  Madame  Hanska 
Loup,  see  Madame  Hanska 
Luxembourg,  117 
Lyon,  89 
Lys  dans  la  Vallee,  Le,  75,  104, 

107,  136,  139,  172,  177,  180,  181, 

214,  217,  283,  285,  286 

Madame  de  la  Chanterie,  166 

Madame  Firmiani,  170,  171 

Madeleine,  La,  74,  155 

Madrid,  148 

Maffei,  Andrea,  150 

Maffei,   Comtesse,   15,    145,   150- 

152 

Maille,  Due  de,  182 
Maille,  Duchesse  de,  182 
Maison-ditrchat-qui-pelote,       La, 

57,  205 


316 


INDEX 


Maison  Nucingen,  La,  69 

Maitre  Cornelius,  268 

Mallet,  M.,  51 

Mallet,   Madame,  33,  38,  46-51, 
268,  280 

Mame,  101,  102 

Mancini,  Juana  de,  282 

Manzoni,  151 

Marais,  Rue  de,  168 

Marana,  Les,  148 

Marat,  175 

Maratre,  La,  92 

Marbouty,     Madame,     14,     no, 
113-115,  179 

Marcel,  113 

Margonne,  M.  de,  10,  14,  51,  58, 
59,  128,  173,  284 

Margonne,  Madame  de,  51,  58- 

59,  173,  279 
Marguerite,  78 
Marguerite,    ou    deux    Amours, 

78 

Maria,  156-159,  161 
Marie  Antoinette,  165,  175,  209 
Marie  de  Medecis,  235 
Marmontel,  94 
Marneffe,  Madame,  263,  282 
Mars,  Mile,  93 
Martinez  de  la  Rosa,  148 
Martyres  ignores,  152 
Marseilles,  18,  187,  245,  246 
Massimilla  Doni,  286 
Maucombe,  Renee,  281 
Maupin,  Camille,  121 
Mayence,  234,  242 
Medecin  de   Campagne,  Le,  63, 
109,  135,  187,  198,  208,  213,  215, 
281 
Memoires,  102,  108 


Memoires  de  deux  jeunes  Mar- 

iees,  124,  282 

Menage  de  Carbon,  Le,  69 
Merlin,  Comtesse,  108,  145,  147- 

149,  283 

Merlin,  General,  148 
Mery,  77,  245 
Metternich,    Comte   de,   99,    106, 

134,  188,  189 
Meudon,  98 
Meurice,  Froment,  83 
Meyerbeer,  113 
Michel-Angelo,  274 
Mignon,  Modeste,  238,  280,  281 
Milan,  15,  no,  in,  137,  150,  151, 

152,  280 

Mirah,  Josepha,  282 
Mirecourt,  Eugene  de,  263 
Mirouet,  Ursule,  280,  282 
Mizkiewicz,  258 

Mniszech,  Comte,  17,  18,  37,  46, 
83,  239,  244,  247,  251,  257,  258, 
267,  268,  269 

Mniszech,   Comtesse,   17,   19,  47, 
48,   49,   50,   69,    198,   206,   207, 
228,  235,  239,  240,  243,  244,  247, 
251,  255,  257,  258,  260,  264,  265- 
269,  271,  272,  280,  286 
Mode,  La,  80 
Modeste  Mignon,   112,  210,  237, 

238,  274,  280 
Moliere,  7,  236 
Montagnarde,  La,  see  Madame 

de  Brugnolle 

Montheau,  Marie  de,  57,  280 
Montreuil,  Grande-Rue  de,  96 
Montriveau,  Marquis  de,  192,  285 
Montrond,  M.  de,  106,  107 
Montzaigle,  Alfonzo  de,  51 
Montzaigle,  Alfred  de,  51 


INDEX 


317 


Montzaigle,  M.  de,  54 
Montzaigle,   Madame   de,   5,   51, 

53-54,  279 

Montzaigle,  M.  Michaud  de,  167 
Montzaigle,  Paul  de,  51 
Mortsauf,  M.  de,  217,  284 
Mortsauf,   Madame   de,   75,    104, 

107,  172,  180,  217,  284,  285 
Moscow,  121 

Munch,  Frangois,  33,  261 
Muse  du  Department,  La,  115 
Musset,  Alfred,  51,  112,  182 

Nacquart,   Dr.,   xx,  37,  83,  234, 

257,  263 

Nangis,  Raoul  de,  113 
Nanon,  279 
Naples,  18,  187,  245 
Napoleon,  72,  74,  04,  95,  97,  104, 

108,  109,  144,  209 
Narbonne,  Comte  de,  109 
Nemours,  128,  137,  177,  181 
Neufchatel,  13,  99,  207,  208,  210, 

225,  226,  265,  269,  273 
Neuve-du-Luxembourg,  Rue,  130 
"Nevil,  Lady,"  195 
Niveleau,  Jean,  157 
Nivet,  M.,  71 

Nivet,  Madame,  59,  71,  114 
Nivet,  M.  Philippe,  71 
Nohant,  118,  123 
Nueil,  Gaston  de,  174 

Odessa,  204 

O'Donnel,  M.,  72 

O'Donnel,  Madame,  72,  81,  82,  87 

Olizar,  Comte  Gustave,  257 

Olympe,  see  Madame  Rossini 

Orloff,  Comte,  xxi,  258 


Paix  du  Menage,  La,  47 

Parents  pauvres,  Les,  275 

Parquin,  M.,  167 

Paskevitch,  Prince,  144 

Passez,  M.,  6 

Passion  au  College,  Une,  166 

Passy,  1 6,  86,  146,  243 

Patrickson,  Miss,  194,  195 

Paysans,  Les,  241,  242 

Paz,  Thaddee,  238,  239 

Peau   de   Chagrin,  La,  25,    116, 

130,  135,   171,  172,  175,  200,  205, 

285 

Peche  veniel,  Le,  129 

Pelissier,  Olympe,  see  Madame 
Rossini 

Pere  Goriot,  179,  211,  214 

Pere-Lachaise,  7,  143,  203,  264 

Petites  Miseres  de  la  Vie  con- 
jugal, Les,  261 

Petit s  Bourgeois,  Les,  235,  279 

Peytel,  223 

Pfaffins,  Baronne  de,  153,  155, 
156 

Physiologic  du  Manage,  74,  80, 
104,  105,  107,  167,  175,  183,  197, 
205 

Pierette,  266 

Piombo,  Ginevra  di,  281 

Planche,  Gustave,  121 

"  Polar  Star,"  see  Madame  Han- 
ska 

Pommereul,  Baron  de,  10,  57,  58 

Pommereul,  Madame  de,  10,  51, 
57-58 

Porta,  Luigi,  Madame,  286 

Portefoin,  Rue,  166 

Potogka,  Comtesse  Delphine, 
153,  156 


INDEX 


Potocka,   Comtesse,   Marie,   134, 

159,  198,  275-276 
Potocjca,  Madame  Jaroslas,  134, 

153,  ISS 

Potocki,  Comte,  240 

Predilecta,  La,  see  Madame  Han- 
ska 

Pre-Leveque,  230 

Premiere  Demoiselle,  La,  122 

Presse,  La,  75,  80,  84,  86,  87,  115 

Proscrits,  Les,  41 

Quotidienne,  12,  200,  204,  207 

Rabouilleuse,  La,  69,  70,  71,  279 

Racine,  7 

Radzivilof,  258 

Radziwill,  Princesse,  viii,  83,  116, 

159,  160,  202,  208,  209,  217,  229, 

249,  253,  262,  263,  264 
Raffaelle,  153 

Raphael,  25,  36,  172,  282,  285 
Rapp,  General,  108 
Razumofsky,  Prince,  146 
Razumofsky,  Princesse,  146 
Recamier,   Madame,   n,  88,  ill, 

129,  130,  131,  132 
Recherche   de   I'Absolu,  La,  41, 

56,  92,  104,  173,  213,  267,  280, 

283,  286 
Regnault    de    Saint-Jean    d'An- 

gely,  Madame,  107 
Remonencq,  Madame,  279 
Ressources  de  Quinola,  Les,  92, 

93,  144,  148,  199 
Revue  independante,  123 
Revue  Parisienne,  16 
Reybaud,  Louis,  128 
Rhetore,  Duchesse  de,  see  Prin- 
cesse Gandolphini 


Rhone,  M.,  168 

Riznitsch,  M.,  204 

Riznitsch,  Madame,  198,  203,  275 

Robespierre,  165 

Rochecotte,  133 

Rochers,  Les,  74 

Rodolphe,  see  Albert  Savarus 

Roland,  Madame,  102 

Romans     et     Conies     Philoso- 

phiques,  56 
Rome,  1 8,  186 
Rossini,  M.,  130,  131,  226 
Rossini,    Madame,    14,    129-131, 

137 

Rothschild,  Baron,  148 
Rothschild,    Baronne,    145,    148- 

149 

Rouget,  Dr.,  71 

Rousseau,  Jean-Jacques,  106,  220 
Rouvre,  Adelaide  du,  281 
Rubempre,  Lucien  de,  78,  174 
Ruxton,  Madame,  25,  166 
Rzewuska,      Comtesse      Rosalie, 

147,  198,  219,  258,  273-274,  275 
Rzewuska,  Mile,  198,  274 
Rzewuski,  Comte,  209 
Rzewuski,     Comte     Adam,    203, 

217,  258 

Rzewuski,  Comte  Henri,  258 
Rzewuski,  Comte  Stanislas,  204, 

261,  262 
Rzewuski,     Comte,     Wenceslas, 

273 
Rzewuski,  45,  229 

Sache,  10,  58,  59,   128,  137,  173, 

183,  283 

Saint  Barbara,  36 
Saint-Cloud,  Avenue  de,  96 
Saint-Cyr,  60,  68 


INDEX 


319 


Sainte-Beuve,  182,  194,  203 
Saint-Michel,  Quai,  116 
St.    Petersburg,    17,  54,  86,   123, 
127,  133,  136,  178,  228,  233,  234, 
239,  240,  243,  250,  267,  270 
Sallambier,  Madame,  5,  23,  51-54 
Sand,  George,    u,   77,    103,   no, 
in,  113,  115,  116-123,  139,  281, 
283 

Sandeau,  Jules,  15,  114,  118,  159 
Sarah,  see  Madame  Visconti 
Sardinia,  15,  63,  118,  121,  137,  221 
Sarrazine,  135 
Saumur,  157 
Sauviat,  Madame,  283 
Savarus,    Albert,   228,   229,    231, 

286 
Scenes   de  la   Vie   de  Province, 

128 

Scenes  de  la  Vie  Parisienne,  128 
Scenes  de  la  Vie  privee,  122,  175, 

200,  205,  281 

Schonburg,  Princesse,  153,  155 
Schontz,  Madame,  149,  283 
Schouwalof,  Comtesse,  135,  155 
Sclopis,  Comte,  113 
Scott,  Walter,  258,  282 
Sebastiani,  General,  106 
Sechard,  Madame,  221,  282 
Serafina      San-Severino,      Com- 
tesse, 145,  150,  151-152 
Serafino,  di  Porcia,  152 
Seraphita,  195,  211,  214,  273 
Serizy,  Comtesse  de,  282,  283 
Sevigne,  Madame  de,  74 
Shakespeare,  20 

Societe  des  Gens-de-Lettres,  16 
Sofka,  see  Mile  Kozlowska 
Sorbonne,  5 
Souvenirs  inedits,  114 


Splendeurs  et  Miseres  des  Cottr- 

tisanes,  152 
Spoelberch    de    Lovenjoul,    Vi- 

comte,  vii,  xxvii,  xxxiv,  66,  74, 

122,    143,    156,    188,    200,    201, 

205,  206,  249,  269 
Stael,  Madame  de,  xxxii 
Stelzi,  in 
Stendhal,  xxxii 
Stern,  Daniel,  see  Comtesse  d'- 

Agoult 

Strasbourg,  18,  246 
Sue,  Eugene,  122,  130 
Surville,  M.,  7,  39,  41 
Surville,  Madame,  5,  6,  7,  9,  21, 

22,  24,  25,  29,  37,  38-45,  51,  52, 

54,  60,  99,   112,   122,   129,   157, 

166,  214,  260,  279,  280 
Surville,     Sophie,    see    Madame 

Mallet 
Surville,  Valentine,  see  Madame 

Duhamel 

Talleyrand,  132,  133 
Talleyrand,     Duchesse     de,     see 

Duchesse  de  Dino 
Tancrede,  83 
Tartuffe,  236 
Taurogen,  234 
Tencin,  Madame  de,  94 
Tenebreuse     Affaire,     Une,    59, 

1 08,  280 
Thisbe,  90 

Thomas,  Ambroise,  47 
Tigres,  131 
Titian,  153,  189 
Touches,  Mile  des,  103,  120,  121, 

139,  142,  174,  283 
Touraine,     5,     7,     58,     108     115, 

220 


320 


INDEX 


Tourangin,  Zultna,  see  Madame 

Carraud 

Tournon,  Rue  de,  10 
Tours,  5,  59,  H3 
Trailles,  Maxime  de,  107 
Tre  Monasteri,  153 
Trumilly,  Baron  de,  12,  197 
Trumilly,     Mile    de,     172,     182, 

197-8,  208,  280 
Tuileries,  131 
Tuleu,  M.,  168 
Turheim,  Comtesse,  145-146 
Turin,  113,  136 
Turquan,  M.,  103,  105 

Ukraine,  12,  36,  87,  213,  223 

Ulric,  115 

Vrsule  Mirouet,  46 

Vaillant,  Madame,  23,  279 

Val  de  Travers,  99 

Valdes,  Paquita,  286 

Valette,    Madame    de,    15,    136, 

140-143,  159,  160 
Valette,  Pierre,  140 
Valmore,  Hippolyte,  89 
Valmore,  Hyacinthe,  89,  280 
Valmore,  Ines,  89,  280 
Valmore,  M.,  89,  91 
Vandenesse,  Felix  de,  '/$,  171,  217, 

283,  284 

Vannes,  141,  143 
Vareilles-Sommieres,   Baron   de, 

197 

Varese,  Madame,  286 
Vauquer,  Madame,  211 
Vautrin,  41,  88,  114,  142 
Vendetta,  La,  108,  286 
Verdi,  151 

Verdugo,  El,  80,  108 
Vernet,  Horace,  130,  131 


Versailles,  96,  138,  139,  140 
Vicaire  des  Ardennes,  Le,  40 
Vicolo  dei  Capuccini,  153 
Vieille  Fille,  La,  137,  279 
Vieille-Post,  Rue  de  la,  71 
Vienna,   42,    128,    132,    137,    146, 

154,  155,  177,  207,  212,  213,  214, 

215,  217,  218,  220,  223,  234 
Vignon,  Claude  de,  121 
Villenoix,  Pauline,  172,  285 
Villeparisis,  6,  9,  23,  54,  96,  166, 

167 

Visconti,  M.  de,  14,  15,  136 
Visconti,  Madame  de,  14,  15,  57, 

136-139,  144,  217,  284 
Voltaire,  xviii,  204 
Voyage  a  Java,  122 
Voyage  d'un  Moineau  de  Paris, 

122 

Wagram,  213 

Warsaw,  144 

Watteville,  Rosalie  de,  281 

Werdet,  M.,  14,  83,  126,  129 

Werdet,  Madame,  125,  129 

Wierzchownia,  18,  34,  43,  48,  55, 

99,  160,  178,  188,  206,  218,  219, 

221,  223,  226,  227,  232,  239,  248, 

249,  251,  266,  275 
Wierzchownia,  M.  de,  213 
Weisbaden,  18,  86 
Wight,  Isle  of,  253 
Witte,  General,  183 
Wormeley,   Miss  K.   P.,  xxxiv, 

200,  201,  206,  247 
Wylezynska,  Denise,  50,  198,  207, 

273 
Wylezynska,    Severine,    50,    198, 

207,  272 
Wylezynski,  Thaddee,  238,  273 

Zavadovsky,  Helene,  160 


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